After bidding farewell to Alpha Derick, I set out for the Flame Forest, the site of the alpha assessment. This was Hadley’s dying wish, his closest dream, and now I wanted to show him the future that was supposed to be his.

As I reached the forest, a sudden wave of pain coursed through me, and my wolf howled in agony. I could feel the bond between Alpha Derick and me slowly dissolving. The mark on the back of my neck was fading, a sign that Alpha Derick was letting me go.

He sent me a final message: He left me an enormous fortune, more than I could ever spend...