Page 51 of Never Tamed
The words hit me harder than I expect.They’re true.
Wearebroken. We’ve been fractured by loss, hatred, and fear. But standing here, watching these wolves build a home from nothing feels like maybe the Grey Valley wolves and the Steele Claws can be more.
Even though the camp is buzzing with positive, hopeful energy, Mathis’s attention seems to be somewhere else. His gaze is already scanning the crowd, looking for someone in particular.
“I need to find Owen,” he says suddenly and then turns to Donovan. “Do you know where he is?”
Donovan shakes his head. “He’s not here.”
Mathis stills. “What?”
“Owen left yesterday, Alpha.” A woman from Grey Valley steps forward with a basket of dirty clothes in her arms. “We all told him not to, but he said he couldn’t wait anymore. He said he felt something through their bond.”
Ah, shit. A spike of anxiety spirals down the bond from Mathis.
His jaw locks, his chest rising like it’s braced for a hit. “Alone?”
“Yes.” The woman lowers her voice. “Whatever he felt, it must’ve been bad. No one could stop him.”
When Mathis doesn’t respond, I step in. “And how long ago was that?”
“Two days?” Donovon says. “Maybe?”
Double shit. Ren’s concern grows and Mathis’s feelings cut off abruptly.
Torin holds out a hand. “Hey, no.”
Mathis turns away from us. He may not want anyone to see him unraveling, but the bond tells the truth. He’s fracturing like glass.
Ren steps closer to him. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”
His eyes are empty when they fall to her. Then, with one heavy, solemn nod, he turns and walks away.
The message is clear. We watch him go and no one steps out of line to stop him.
Torin grunts. “No one say a fucking word to me until I take a long hot shower.”
Then he heads off toward the bath house. Dax disappears in the opposite direction, slipping into the trees before any of us can ask where he’s going.Typical.
But I can’t blame him. We’re all running on fumes.
Ren turns to me, her expression still wary after everything. Her cheeks are red, wind-bitten, her lips chapped. Gods, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And that’s not just the mate bond talking.
“You okay, baby?” I ask.
She nods, but it’s the kind of gesture that saysno,not really.
I offer her my hand and she takes it. “Let’s go home.”
Exhaustion thrums through me on our trek to the small cabin. It feels like a lifetime ago that we last stepped inside it. Like we are a different version of ourselves now than we were then.
How the hell can things change so quickly?
Ren doesn’t let go of my hand until we’re inside. She looks up at me, her eyes dark in the soft light bleeding through the cracked window. With the heat on and the soft beds, I’m ready to drop.
Until she licks her lips.
“I’m scared, Noble,” she says softly. “It feels like we are hanging by a thread, and Andras knows.”
