I came alive when I met Gunnar. Only, I hadn’t realized it at the time. Now, it was as if all the signs in my life finally pointed to one thing. If I had never survived Birch Haven, I wouldn’t have met Jade. I wouldn’t have made her the promise that led me to that prison camp where I found him. And now, I could feel the strength he drew from my presence. His pulse beat alongside my own. It wasn’t a trick. It wasn’t the Pack. It was me. Only now I had to figure out a way to make Vera and the others accept it. Baby steps.

We settled into a routine over the next few weeks. Spring finally settled as April bled into May. I can’t say Vera liked Gunnar yet, but she accepted him for now. In the end, Caroline had tipped the scales in Gunnar’s favor. We couldn’t stay in the cave anymore. That was clear. It was time to take the tunnels northwest, toward the Illinois border. For some reason, the patrols were lighter there. Tennessee and Ohio were the most dangerous this time of year.

Caroline’s leg had gotten worse. I knew she had an infection deep in the bone. For now, it hadn’t spread, but we all knew it was only a matter of time. Blessedly, that day wasn’t today, but Caroline could no longer bear any weight on her bad leg. When Melanie tried to make a stretcher out of dried vines and branches, Gunnar put a stop to it.

“I’ll carry her,” he said, facing down Vera.

We were all at the lake, filling what canteens we had. Even that drove Gunnar insane. With his wolf senses, he could scout clean water easily.

“We have managed for years without you,” Vera said, bringing up the same argument she’d made for weeks. Now, even Melanie was tired of hearing about it. To his credit, Gunnar didn’t take the bait this time. Caroline did.

“Vera, will you shut up? If Gunnar were going to call the Pack down on our heads, he’d have done it by now. If you don’t want him knowing about our next hideout, I get it. It’s valid. But you’ve got two choices, either leave me behind or let him carry me. I’ll understand either way.”

Caroline didn’t usually talk like this. It alarmed me more than the swelling in her leg. Gunnar shot me a look. We hadn’t said it outright to each other, but if we didn’t find medical help for Caroline soon, that leg was eventually going to kill her.

Melanie put a light hand on Vera’s back as she stooped to fill up the last of the canteens. When she straightened, she gave me a hard glance and jutted her chin at Gunnar. “So, now you’re all against me.”

“No one’s against you,” I said. “For the love of God, Vera. Let’s just finish breaking down the camp and get moving. We’ve stayed here too long as it is.”

“Whose fault is that?” Vera muttered as she grabbed the canteens and headed back toward the cave.

“She’s trying,” Melanie said. Gunnar laughed. Caroline struggled to get to her feet. Agony had etched deep lines in her face. She’d aged years in the last few weeks.

“Let me,” Gunnar said, hooking an arm under hers. He shot me a wink as Caroline’s shoulders fell with relief. The two of them followed Vera, leaving Melanie and me alone at the water’s edge.

“Are you okay?” Melanie asked almost absently as she washed her hands in the water.

“Am I what? Of course,” I said. “I mean, as okay as any of the rest of us. I’m just anxious to get out of here. Same as all of you.”

“He hasn’t marked you,” Melanie said. It was a statement, not a question.

I froze as I leaned over to lace up my boot. Melanie had been watching Gunnar and me. Maybe even more closely than Vera.

“Mel,” I said. “He hasn’t so much as touched me without me instigating it.”

“That’s good. Because...if you let him...it’s forever. You know that.”

I know she came from a good place, but I couldn’t help that her words got my back up. She didn’t know what she was talking about. Gunnar wasn’t like the wolf who’d marked her. It wasn’t the same at all. Any hint of a comparison felt...blasphemous to me somehow. I held my breath for a beat as I let my misplaced anger fade.

“I know,” I said. Melanie was the gentlest person I knew. Because of it, she was sometimes the most cutting. She didn’t like to confront people like Vera did. So, when she came at me, I knew it was something she’d been holding on to for a very long time.

“You don’t know, Jett. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Vera hasn’t figured it out yet, but I have. Gunnar may not be Pack, but he’s not entirely free.”

My spine stiffened. My need to protect Gunnar flared inside of me. For a moment, I wondered if this was what it was like when his wolf raged within him. It felt feral, dangerous, almost out of place. This was Melanie after all. I took a breath and sat down beside her.

We looked out at the water together. A flock of wood ducks paddled across the surface, a female chased by three larger males. Her sharp quack and a flap of her wings sent them skittering in all directions.

“He’s not Pack,” I said again. “And I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? I mean really?”

“What happened to you is not remotely like what’s going on with Gunnar and me,” I said, keeping my tone measured.

“I know that,” she said and it surprised me. After everything she’d suffered, that Melanie could look at another shifter and see something other than a monster amazed me. I wondered if she might just be the strongest of all of us.

“He’s out there, my wolf,” she said. “He’s not dead. Vera likes to think so, and most of the time, I just let her. But, I know different. My mark still flares hot sometimes. I can feel him in my sleep. He even calls my name.”

“You told me that before. But, Mel, it’s been years. If he was a danger to you or us, don’t you think he’d have shown up by now?”

My pulse hammered inside of me. Melanie stared off into the distance. Her body swayed side to side, giving her a trancelike quality. She was reaching out to him. Horror filled my heart. Then, her eyes snapped open and she looked at me. Wherever she’d gone in those last few seconds, she was fully present now.

“He doesn’t care about me anymore,” she said. “That’s the only reason he hasn’t come to drag me back. I don’t know why. My guess? He’s forced himself on another woman he likes better. And maybe the Alpha doesn’t think we pose any kind of threat. I suppose we don’t. Not really. But someday, he will figure it out. Because Gunner will tell him about us.”

Her words stabbed through my heart. These were the kind of things Vera had said from day one. It never occurred to me that Melanie believed it. “Then why?” I asked. “If you were afraid of that, why in the hell didn’t you side with Vera and ask him to leave?”

Melanie smiled. “Because he’s not like the rest of them. Not yet, anyway. And....well...he’s yours. I’m still holding out hope that your bond with him will be enough to save the both of you. It might be. I don’t know enough about these things. But, you’re not going to be strong enough to hold things off with Gunnar forever. He might be; he’s a shifter. You’re not.”

“Why don’t you let me worry about that, Mel?” I said. “Vera’s rubbing off on you. Come on. Let’s get back to the camp and make sure Vera hasn’t killed Gunnar yet.” I said it with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. I hoped to my feet but Melanie didn’t rise. She just stared up at me, cupping her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun.

“Jett,” she said. “She will kill him. She’ll have no choice, maybe.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We need Gunnar to help Caroline so we can get out of here. But, after that, he’s going to have to leave. Then, you’ll have a choice to make.”

I squatted back down and faced her. “Are you threatening me?”

“No,” she said. “Vera never wanted it to sound like that, and I don’t either. It’s not your fault. It’s fate. I understand that. But, if you really search your heart, you’ll know why it has to be this way. You can’t be with both of us. If Gunnar marks you like he’s supposed to, then you belong with him. Are you going to sit there and lie to my face? Are you going to tell me the Alpha’s not already in his head?”

I opened my mouth to argue then clamped it shut. My head swam from the driving beat of my pulse. I couldn’t think straight.

Melanie dusted off her ass then finally rose to her feet. “I told you. We love you. I want you with us. But Gunnar’s not going to be safe to have around forever. So, decide what you want. Him or us. I will not let him lead the Pack back here.”

I forced a smile to try and lighten the air. “It’s going to be okay,” I said. “You have to trust that I know what I’m doing.”

Melanie had a faraway look; her gray eyes misted then flicked back to mine with laser focus. “It will be the same for me someday. The difference is I already know it. Vera doesn’t. I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to her.”

“What do you mean?” My insides felt hollow.

“Someday, Gunnar will pose a threat to the rest of us. And so will I. I’m on borrowed time. I’m ready to do what needs to be done to protect the people I love. Will you?”

She leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek as I stood speechless before her.