Luciano gestured toward the carts with the food. “What do you want to start with?”Talia was about to reach out for something but stopped herself. “Won’t you pick first?”It was ages since she ate in a group setting, but Talia remembered that high-ranking members of the pack eat first. As a child, she always waited for others to have their picks before she could get food. And even if everyone had food in front of them, no one dared to eat before Alpha… and she was with one big scary Alpha in the room right now.Luciano shook his head in disapproval. Talia was hungry, and he ordered all this food for her, yet she wanted him to eat first.Sure, normally, in the pack, others waited for him, but this was not normal, and he didn’t want Talia to feel that she was below him.He grabbed a fork poked a finger-sized sausage and held it in front of Talia’s mouth.“Eat”, he ordered in a voice that didn’t allow for further arguments.Talia was about to get the fork and hold it herself, but Lucian

Maya hummed in satisfaction at the sight of Talia’s hair that was parted in two neat braids.“All done.”, Maya announced.Talia touched the braid that fell over her left shoulder. “Thank you, this is wonderful.”“You are welcome.”, Maya responded and inched closer. “You have beautiful eyes. Will you let me put some makeup on you?”Talia blinked. Unsure how to respond to the compliment or the makeup offerings.Seeing that Talia was flustered, Maya patted her shoulder. “We will do makeup next time. We need to head out now.”Maya told Luciano through the mind link that they were ready to go, and it took him a minute to reach the hotel room.Luciano stood frozen at the door and stared at Talia who was collecting fruits, cheeses, and granola bars from the food carts, wrapping them in napkins and arranging them in a paper bag Maya gave her.Eventually, Talia noticed Luciano and paused.He didn’t say anything, and she started squirming under his unreadable gaze.Did he not approve that she

When Travis entered the exam room, Talia was wearing the hospital gown.While Jill was drawing Talia’s blood for the lab work, and Cathy collected swabs from Talia’s mouth and nose, Travis observed Talia’s bruises.Luciano told him that Talia doesn’t have a wolf, and that would impact her healing, but it was a long time since Travis saw so many cuts and bruises on a person.They would be nothing much for a werewolf and would heal within a day or two, but for a human (or a werewolf without a wolf), it can take a week or two until they completely fade.Travis’s sight was drawn to Talia’s bandaged wrist. Considering that most of her injuries were exposed, he had to ask, “Who did this?”“Alpha Luciano.”, Talia responded.“That was very…”, Travis paused while choosing his words.Talia smiled a little while remembering Lucaino’s intense expression while bandaging her.“I know. That was very kind of him.”Travis cocked an eyebrow. “I wanted to say, unskilled, but we can go with your versio

Luciano and Talia emerged from the last line of trees and Talia shrunk at the sight of the neat lawn and the mansion.Little by little, her steps became smaller, and her face was filled with reluctance.Talia understood that this was the packhouse, and things like a packhouse didn’t bring happy memories.The packhouse at the Red Moon pack was a place where she was fine only while hiding. In the forest, she was happy, and she didn’t want to go back to the attic.“This will be your home, Talia.”, Luciano announced and tugged her hand to start moving.‘Her home?’, Talia wondered if she heard him right.She knew that Luciano lived there, and probably Caden and Maya and any other high-ranking members of the pack. But what about her? She is a nobody.Talia forced herself to stay present and observe her surroundings. It will come in handy if she needs to flee.In terms of size, the packhouse was bigger than the one at the Red Moon pack.They came from the side, but Luciano led the way toward

“Based on your reaction, I can guess Alpha Luciano didn’t tell you that you will be staying in his old room.”“His old room?”, Talia repeated robotically. “Don’t you have any other room to give me?”Stephanie shrugged. “Don’t look at me, girl. I’m just following orders. Come inside and see how you like it.”“You travelled the whole night and then went to the hospital. I guess you want to shower and rest, right?”Talia nodded at Stephanie’s words while observing the room and her sight stopped at the intricate woodwork on the mantle that surrounded a massive fireplace.“Uhm… they didn’t bring any suitcase for you. Do you have any clothes?”, Stephanie asked.“I had clothes wrapped in a bedsheet. That was in the trunk.”, Talia said.“Give me a second.”, Stephanie lifted her finger, indicating to Talia to wait, and she mind-linked Maya. ‘Did you bring Talia’s things inside?’‘What things? Other than one book and a few trinkets, Talia has only a few items that are worn out and don’t fit her