“But where will you go?” Alyra asked. She handed a neatly folded t-shirt to her brother and watched him roll it into a tube before nestling it in his suitcase.

Elijah shrugged as he spun around in a slow circle, scanning his apartment for necessities. “It doesn’t matter. Anywhere but here.” He stepped into the bathroom and tossed some travel-sized toiletries and a toothbrush into a bag. “I said goodbye to Mom this afternoon.”

“And Mila? Is she going with you?”

“I’m not sure yet. I hope so,” he answered. He shoved his toiletry bag into the center of his luggage and flipped the top down before dragging the zipper around the length of the suitcase to close it.

“You haven’t talked about it?”

He shook his head. “We haven’t had a chance. Between sneaking around at night and stolen… kisses… in a barn and sneaking around at night, there hasn’t been much room for serious discussion.”

Alyra laughed. “I see. Well. What’s your plan?” She sat on the bed, calmly observing as he paced across his bedroom.

“Mila deserves to make her own choices. And that includes whether she wants to come with me or not. I can’t ask her to give up her entire life for me. But if she offers to come with me freely, if it’s her idea? Nothing would make me happier.”

Alyra nodded. “I want you to be happy. I want both of you to be happy. Together.” She stood, smoothing the comforter down as she spoke. “But what if she says no?”

“If she says no?” He raked a hand through his hair, biting back a growl. “Then I respect her wishes and go as far away from here as I can possibly get. Jared won’t be able to claim her as his true mate, but that won’t stop them from getting married if that’s what they want. But whether she married Jared or stays with her parents, her life here will be comfortable. Safe.”

“And what about you? Alyra crossed to him, taking his hands in hers. “Will you be able to move on?”

“Depends on your definition of moving on.” Elijah’s face darkened. “I’ll be able to give Mila the space she needs to try and find happiness without me,” he answered. “That’s the most I can hope for.”

“That doesn’t seem fair. You deserve to be happy, too.”

“I’ll never love another. Any chance of that was over the night I claimed Mila. He yanked open a drawer and pulled out a shoebox filled with cash. “Besides, now that I’ve tasted true love? Now that I know how it feels to be mated to someone, to be bonded forever? I couldn’t settle for anything less.”

Elijah counted out the stacks of hundred dollar bills as he shoved them into a leather satchel.

“Do you have enough money?” Alyra asked.

He nodded as he counted. “Enough to get a last for a few months at least. I’ve been saving for years.” He reached the end of the cash and frowned down at the small red velvet bag at the bottom of the shoe box. He picked it up, fingering the worn fabric as he removed the contents.

Three platinum rings — a wide band with a single red one carat diamond, a slender eternity band with hundreds of red diamond baguettes, and another matching eternity band topped with a brilliant red three carat diamond.

He set his jaw, determined not to let the tears win as he held them up for Alyra to see.

“Mom and Dad’s rings.” She stepped forward to take the engagement band, a wistful look on her face. “I didn’t know you still had these.”

“Mom gave them to me when we left, told me they would come in handy if we ever needed money. Red diamonds, to represent our pack colors.” He slipped the two wedding bands back into the bag. “But even as tight as things got around here at times, I could never bring myself to sell them.”

“Red diamonds are some of the rarest in the world,” she said as she handed the engagement ring back to him. “I’m sure they’re worth a small fortune. Are you going to sell them now?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said. He placed the final ring in the bag and tucked it in a zippered pocket inside his satchel. “I want to propose to Mila,” he explained. “If she comes with me, I’ll give her the engagement ring.”

Alyra smiled. “She’d be crazy to turn you down.”

He laughed. “She’d be even crazier to say yes.” He grabbed his passport from the top of the dresser and tucked it into the satchel with the rings and cash. “But if she does, and things get really hard, we still have the other two rings to fall back on.”

He lifted his suitcase from the bed and slung his satchel over his shoulder and across his chest.

“I’m really going to miss you, you know that?”

“Same,” he said. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

“No,” Alyra shook her head. “I have a life here.”

“If Jared finds out about me, you may be in danger,” he cautioned. His face grew serious. “I can’t protect you if I’m not here.”

“Lighten up, big brother.” She grinned, giving her brother a playful punch on the shoulder. “You’ve taken care of me my whole life. I’m a big girl now. Besides,” she narrowed her eyes in a conspiratorial expression and gave him a wink, “I have reasons of my own for staying.”

Is my little sister in love, too?

Elijah cocked his head, waiting for her to elaborate, but she didn’t share any additional details. Instead, she flung her arms around him in a warm embrace, planted a kiss on his cheek, and stepped back.

“Go on. Get out of here,” she urged.

“Alyra, I—

“I know. I love you, too. And I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“If things get bad here—

“If things get bad, I’ll follow. You have my word.”

Elijah’s shoulders slumped. He could see there was no arguing with his sister. All that was left to do was say goodbye, and hope for the best.

He brought her in for another hug, squeezing just a bit harder, holding her for just a bit longer, than usual. Finally, he released her, and with one final glance around his small studio apartment, he headed out the door.

When he reached his SUV, he turned back to look at Alyra as she stood in the doorway. The tears threatened to fall again, and this time, he let them come. She was being strong as always, but for all he knew, this could be the last time they ever saw each other alive.