I left venessa at the hospital and walked lonely into the pack building, it was silent, but there’s still the low murmur of voices somewhere on the lower floor, the creak of boards as people move around.

I take the stairs two at a time, my boots barely whispering against the worn wood. Kael’s still in the clinic. Vanessa’s probably pacing the corridors trying to figure out how to crawl her way back into his good graces. Which means I have the advantage. I needed to check aria's room.

I reached her room door and noticed it isn’t locked. That’s my first mistake, I expected at least a little resistance,...