Evelyn’s PoV

For the last few weeks, both physically and emotionally, it had been an exhausting experience. The burden of my powers, my past, and that how much the pack disbelieved me weighed heavy on my shoulders. To this day, walking through that pack was no easy feat. I could feel the whispers, sideways glances, the fear unspoken. Nothing I could do seemed to work—I was somehow stuck with wounds too deep to heal.

My mother, of course, had always picked up on it. She noticed everything.

One evening, after the patrols had returned and the pack settled in for the night, she summoned me to her room. The way...