Page 51 of Taken By the Pack

“Yep.” He takes another sip, then sighs. “Only person who ever really supported me was Mia.”

I tip my head. “Your girlfriend?”

For a second, his face shifts, something dark clouding his features. He looks away. “She was.”

So, an ex? I really hope these expeditions do not include an awkward interaction with an ex.

“When’s she visiting?” I ask anyway, because I already fucking know the answer, and maybe part of me just wants to get it over with.

His jaw tightens. “She’s not,” he says, voice quieter. “She died.”

Silence settles between us, thick and awkward. I take another sip of beer, looking out at the water. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

He nods like he’s used to hearing it. “Yeah.”

I let the quiet stretch for a second before he speaks again.

“She was my mate.”

That makes me turn back to him. He’s staring at his beer now, turning it in his hands.

“Losing her wasn’t just... losing her,” he says. “It was losing everything. The person I was building something with. A pack. A future. The only person who ever gave a damn.”

Something about the way he says it hits harder than I expected. Maybe it’s the way his voice sounds, like it’s been hollowed out. Maybe it’s because I know exactly what the fuck he means.

Because I lost mine, too.

“My Lena died too,” I say, the words heavier than I want them to be.

Ash’s head snaps toward me. “How?”

I swallow, looking back at the ocean. “It took her.”

He doesn’t say anything right away. He just watches me, like he’s waiting for me to say more. When I don’t, he nods once. “I’m sorry.”

I don’t respond. I just open another beer and hand it to him.

We sit there for a while, just listening to the waves, to the occasional creak of the boat. Then, his fishing rod jerks.

“Shit,” he says, eyes widening. “What do I?—”

I reach over, guiding his hands. “Pull. But steady.”

He follows my lead, reeling it in, his whole body tense with excitement. When he finally lifts up a small fish, he laughs. Actually fucking laughs.

“Holy shit, I did it,” he says, grinning like a kid.

I chuckle. “Beginner’s luck.”

He glances at me. “Think I can teach you something now?”

I smirk. “Doubtful.”

“Tide pools,” he says. “You don’t know shit about those, right?”

I shrug. “Not really.”

“Then let me show you.”

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