That’s what my mother used to call me. “It’s just Mo.”
His hand lingers near my cheek. “Mo, then.”
“Your sister likes me,” he says one day as we sit by the stream, our feet dangling in the cool water.
“Sophie likes everyone,” I say.
“Not like shelikesme.” He grins. “She told me I’m good for you.”
I splash water at him. “She should mind her own business.”
“She also said you smile more now.”
He catches my chin with his finger, turning my face back to his.
“I like your smile,” he says softly.
And then he leans in and kisses me. His lips are warm and gentle, and my whole body lights up. I’ve never been kissed before. Never wanted to be until now.
When he pulls back, his eyes are dark and serious. “Was that okay?”
I nod, unable to form words.
“Good,” he says. “Because I plan to do it again.”
And he does. Again and again, each kiss better than the last. Each day with him is better than the day before.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong somewhere. Not in the pack necessarily, but with him, with Stuart. In the space we create together, where I don’t have to pretend or fight or run.
A month passes in a blur of secret smiles and stolen kisses. Is this what happiness feels like? This constant warmth that makes me want to laugh for no reason?
“I want to show you something,” Stuart says one afternoon, taking my hand.
He leads me deeper into the forest than we’ve ever gone before, to a small clearing full of wildflowers.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“I found it one day and thought of you.” He turns to me. “I love you, Mo. I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
“I love you too,” I say, and I’ve never felt happier in my entire life.
* * *
My arms are pinned behind my back as two guards drag me from my bed.
“What’s happening?” I ask, but they don’t answer. They haul me up the stairs and across the cold stone floor of the main hall. My knees scrape against the rough surface, drawing blood. I can feel every crack in the stone.
“Please,” I cry out. “I didn’t do anything!”
The entire pack is here, their faces blurring together as I’m hauled forward. Some look away. Others watch with hungry eyes.
Then I see Stuart. He’s standing near the head alpha’s throne, and relief floods through me. Stuart will fix this. Stuart will tell them this is a mistake. Stuart loves me.
“Stuart,” I say. “Stuart, help me. Tell them I didn’t do anything.”
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t come toward me. Doesn’t say a word.
And then he smiles. But it’s different now—wrong. His eyes slide to the boys standing in the crowd, and they’re grinning too, and something cold settles in my stomach.