The moment Riley's memories crashed into me, a sharp pain exploded behind my eyes. It felt like someone clawed through my mind. My wolf stirred, restless, pacing inside me from everything we had witnessed.
Lena's sobs cut through the haze. They were so raw, so broken, they made my chest tighten.
I held my head with both hands as I slowly sat up on the pack clinic bed. My senses were still unstable, my hearing too sharp, my skin too hot, my instincts too loud.
With effort, I reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Mom… I'm okay now," I whispered.
But I wasn't. Not really.
In Riley's memories, I saw everything, her heartbreak, her loneliness, her silent wounds. I saw how she kept trying to please a father who never cared. And I saw Lena's life too… a woman trapped under the shadow of a cold, dominant male who treated her like she was nothing.
