Ashes of Sanctuary

Stepping out the front doors of the pack house with my canvas bag slung over one shoulder, I exhale a long breath and keep my eyes forward.

I finally belong to myself.

The ache of Alpha Corbin’s rejection still burns inside my chest, sharp and raw. Even so, it hurts far less than losing my grandmother, or enduring the open disgust of my father and brothers.

“Lyra.” Beta Dante jogs up behind me, carrying a heavy duffel bag in one hand. “Let me drive you to the cabin, and I’ll mark the borders with my scent to keep threats away. Deep woods aren’t safe for a girl alone.”

My brows knit when he catches my wrist and gestures toward his parked pickup.

Yanking my hand out of his grip, I shake my head.

“Not once did you help me before today,” I snap. “You never stood up for me. Why bother starting now, Dante? Keep your help. I can walk into those trees on my own. I’ve done it for twelve years without a single scratch.”

The Beta halts on the path, eyeing me with cold annoyance.

“You stayed safe because Evelina’s name shielded you. She’s gone now, leaving you on your own. Take my advice and stay hidden deep under the trees, and if you leave, make sure it’s to find a new mate and bond fast. You need someone guarding your back.”

Right, because so many people guarded my back inside those walls. Nobody protected me all these years except myself. Funny how eager people get to crown themselves saviors once the wreck is finished, putting on a show of empty pageantry.

“Goodbye, Beta Dante.” I brush right past his lecture.

Dropping into my wolf form, I clamp my jaws around my backpack strap and bolt into the timber.

For over an hour I run flat out, letting my wolf stretch free in a way she hasn’t tasted in years. My paws pound damp dirt as I clear fallen trunks, pausing to catch a rabbit for supper, until the sharp smell of woodsmoke hits me short of my grandmother’s clearing.

A strained howl halts me in my tracks. Digging my claws into the earth, I shed my fur and shift back into human skin.

Someone out there is crying for help.

Pulling a worn dress over my head, I sprint barefoot down the trail toward the cabin. Barely two hundred yards separate us now, and thick smoke is rising above the canopy.

Everything my grandmother left me lies leveled into ruins of blackened stone, shattered timber, and ash.

Near the wreckage stands the wolf who raised the alarm, an aging hunter who counted himself among Grandma’s longtime friends.

Dropping my gaze, I hear Slade’s parting taunt echo clearly in my head. *You’ve got plenty of work ahead fixing up that cabin.*

“Miss Lyra, forgive me, I got here too late.” The old hunter surveys the smoking debris. “Evelina wasn’t inside the house. Maybe she slipped out to fetch help.”

I shake my head slowly, unsure how to tell him Grandma breathed her last yesterday evening and is already gone from this world.

“Mr. Gideon, last night my grandmother...”

A truck engine cutting out behind me makes my whole body stiffen, swallowing the rest of my sentence. A heavy cab door slams shut, and I already know Dante has followed me here.

“Are you hurt?” Dante calls out as he walks up. “Any idea who torched your cabin?”

Whirling around in pure fury, I shove both palms against his chest while hot tears sting my eyes, though he doesn’t budge an inch.

“Quit pretending you didn’t hear Slade inside your Alpha’s office!” I scream, fists trembling at my sides. “Grandma died, this burned wreck was all they left me, and they robbed me of her money, Dante! They’re driving me out of the pack so I’ll be forced into turning rogue!”

Behind us, Gideon lets out a low, pained whimper at my words.

“May the Goddess welcome your spirit gently, dear friend,” the old hunter murmurs, grief thick in his voice. “Come stay under my roof until your home stands again, little one.”

Walking over toward Gideon, I soften slightly; he has always shown me genuine kindness.

“Thank you for offering, Mr. Gideon, though I can’t walk away right now. I’ll rebuild this cabin with my own hands. Tonight, pitching a tent right here will be enough.”

The older man offers only a slow, sorrowful nod.

“Suit yourself, child, though I’m sending my grandson back to lend a hand. Clearing all this timber is too much for one person.”

Stepping up in front of the hunter, Dante reaches into his pocket and draws out a small leather pouch.

“I need men to clear the charred debris and bring lumber to rebuild the cabin stone for stone,” Dante says, pressing the pouch into Gideon’s hands. “Can you handle this for Miss Lyra?”

Mr. Gideon nods without hesitation.

“I’ll return shortly with my son and grandsons, Beta Dante,” he says heavily. “My deepest sympathies for your loss, Miss Lyra. We won’t be long.”

Dropping smoothly into his wolf form, the older man vanishes into the surrounding trees.

“I’m not your enemy, Lyra.”

I fix him with a hard glare.

“You sure aren’t an ally either, and so far you haven’t shed a single tear for your sister or your own mother. Your chest holds nothing but cold stone.”

Beta Dante flinches back a step, raw hurt crossing his face.

“My sworn oath binds me to my Alpha and his bloodline first. Still, I checked on my mother every single day after Clarisse died, and I looked after you whenever I safely could. Who do you think walked in and found her last night, Lyra?”

“You looked after me, Beta Dante?” Pivoting halfway, I grab my collar and rip the worn dress down my spine, baring the faded whip scars from Luna Noreen and the marks of my brother’s beatings. “Where were you when they did this every time I breathed too close? Where were you when I went days without food, or when my sister trashed my things for sport? You turned your head and pretended they weren’t treating me like garbage. You saw everything and never lifted a finger.”

For several long seconds, Dante stands completely silent, staring without an answer.

“Take this.” He sets the heavy duffel bag beside my bare feet. “Inside are warm clothes, cash, and enough food for several days. I have to leave now, though I’ll send an off-duty Delta warrior tonight to pitch a tent nearby so you stay comfortable.”

Ignoring the duffel, I bend down to pick up only my canvas backpack.

“Listen...” When he meets my gaze again, sheer exhaustion has replaced his anger. “I have to go back and prepare my mother’s funeral. Quit making today harder than it already is. Don’t take it for me, accept it for Evelina. I can’t stay here tonight, because...”

Raising one hand between us, I cut him off before hearing another word.

Tonight they’re holding Fiona’s mating ceremony.

“Don’t trouble yourself over it,” I tell him evenly when I spot a lean young wolf trotting toward the clearing between the pines. “My help just arrived.”

Giving a brief nod, the Beta turns and climbs back into the cab of his pickup.

“Alright. I’ll come check on you when I’m able.”

Beta Dante backs down the dirt track the way he came, and a long, weary sigh finally slips from my chest.

Near the trees, the young wolf shifts, leaving a naked young man awkwardly covering himself with both hands before speaking in a deep voice.

“I’m Declan, Gideon’s grandson,” he says, flashing a bashful grin. “My dad and my brother are right behind me on the trail.”

Dropping smoothly back into his wolf form, he pads over and sits on the dirt beside me.

“Hey, Declan. Thanks for keeping me company,” I say softly, resting a hand atop his head before sitting beside him and running my fingers through his thick, warm fur.