202 Chapter 202 Blood Runs Deep
Elena’s POV
I nodded, feeling a warmth spread through my chest. “I think I will do that. Meeting you has been wonderful. I can tell how much this moment means to my mother.”
Maya squeezed my hand before heading toward the packhouse, leaving Asher to continue showing me around.
The tour through the territory revealed more than I had imagined. Store after store, each owner eager to step outside and greet me. Word had traveled fast about my arrival, and somehow every person seemed to know exactly who I was before Asher could make introductions.
Their kindness caught me completely off guard. Warm smiles, gentle handshakes, and genuine excitement painted every interaction. This was nothing like what I had prepared myself for during the journey here.
I had built up scenarios in my mind where pack members would turn their backs on me, where anger and resentment would greet me at every corner. The fear had eaten at me for weeks, wondering if coming here was a mistake.
Instead, they welcomed me like I had never left.
But that acceptance did nothing to ease the knot that formed in my stomach every time my gaze fell on the temporary housing scattered throughout the territory. The guilt was a living thing inside me, growing stronger with each tent and makeshift shelter I spotted.
This destruction, this displacement of families, carried my fingerprints. The knowledge sat heavy in my chest, refusing to be ignored or rationalized away.
I couldn’t just live with this burden. These people deserved better than my passive regret. Somehow, I needed to find a way to make things right, to repair what had been broken.
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202 Chapter 202 Blood Runs Deep
Maybe Caleb and Miller would have ideas. They knew this pack better than
anyone.
Back at the packhouse, Asher introduced me to Nora, whose gentle manner with the children immediately put me at ease. Then came the moment I had been both anticipating and dreading.
Meeting Finn, Tate, and Seraphina.
My siblings. The words still felt foreign in my mind.
The boys practically bounced off the walls in their excitement, chattering over each other as they competed for my attention. I did my best to focus on them, answering their rapid–fire questions and laughing at their jokes.
But Seraphina held my gaze captive.
I knelt down to her level, and the resemblance hit me like a physical blow. The same eyes, the same nose, even the
the same nose, even the way she tilted her head when she was curious. It was like looking into a mirror that showed my past instead of
my present.
Somewhere in my belongings, I still carried photos from my childhood. Various caretakers had documented those early years, and I had managed to hold onto a few precious images through all the moves and changes.
Seraphina could have been my twin at that age. The similarity was startling, almost unsettling in its precision.
Asher had been watching me carefully, and he noticed when I reached into my pocket to pull out the worn photograph I always kept close. His eyes widened as he compared the image to the little girl in front of us.
The genetic connection was undeniable. While Caleb and I shared only a mother, Seraphina and I came from the same two parents. That bond showed in every feature of her sweet face.
The day had been full beyond measure. New faces, new stories, new connections that would take time to fully process. Asher’s tour had covered
202 Chapter 202 Blood Runs Deep
every corner of the pack territory, and thankfully we had managed to avoid another encounter with his bitter ex–girlfriend,
After dinner, we retreated to our room, and I headed straight for the shower. The luxury of unlimited hot water and privacy still felt like a dream I might wake from at any moment.
When I emerged, Asher took his turn while I settled on the edge of the bed. The window offered a perfect view of the night sky, and I found myself drawn to the moon hanging full and bright above the trees.
Asher returned from the bathroom and moved across the mattress behind
me, his arms sliding around my waist as his lips found the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder.
“What has you so mesmerized out there?” he murmured against my skin.
“The moon looks enormous tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it quite like
this.”
His breath was warm against my ear as he spoke. “She’s watching over you tonight. The Peak Goddess knows you’re finally where you belong.”
The Peak Goddess. The deity that governed werewolf beliefs and traditions. Unlike human religions with their questions and doubts, werewolves simply accepted her existence as fact. She was as real to them as the ground
beneath their feet.
Asher’s fingers found the thin strap of my tank top, easing it down my shoulder as his mouth followed the same path. When I turned to face him, his lips captured mine in a kiss that tasted of coming home.
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