More importantly, she wanted to be as far away from Lucas as was humanly possible. With the pack trying to mend their mating, she had no choice but to leave. Even his siblings had tried to help. When his brother and sisters tried to bring them together by making her feel guilty, it had been the final straw of an already long and tedious summer. She’d left.

That had been three years ago, only coming back for each and every holiday, and then, she made a point of staying close to home or taking out her need to run into the forest. She always knew when he was near, and she’d run far away, or she hid in the house—she really didn’t care, so long as she never saw his face again.

“We’re here, miss,” the cab driver said. She’d arranged to have a cab waiting for her at the train station.

The last time she’d waited for her parents to arrive, Lucas had arrived, and well, she hadn’t gone in his truck to get home and opted to walk out in whatever condition it had been in at the time. Now, she didn’t tell her parents what time her train was coming in, instead, organizing a cab ready.

She paid the driver, giving him a generous tip as she grabbed her suitcase and climbed out of the car, looking up at her childhood home.

The majority of the pack lived in their small town. There were a few civilians who didn’t know what they were, but that was because after years of hiding, they’d grown adept at conducting their business without anyone knowing. Most of the humans lived in the center of town.

Her parents owned an old ranch they’d converted into a home. The many acres of forest were used for their own amusement.

Like all Alphas, the Nauls owned the biggest piece of property within the town and their names were on most of the businesses and places.

She didn’t mind.

Duke Naul was a great Alpha. He’d really invested his time and expertise into the pack. It was a shame about his son.

She stepped up the steps and went to the door, finding it already open.

“Mom, Dad, I’m home.” She put her case down and removed her jacket. It seemed a month’s worth of snowfall had fallen overnight. It was freezing. Fortunately, her body ran a lot hotter than most humans, so she had to disguise her comfort in extremely cold weather.

She put her jacket on the coat stand and looked up as her mother, Eliza, came around the corner.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Oh, honey, I’ve missed you.”

She hugged her mother close and frowned, pulling back. Then she looked at her mother and took in the clenched hands, the nerves. “What’s going on?”