CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The zipper of my bag rasps in a slow, final drag, sealing away the last remnants of my life here. My fingers tremble slightly as they brush over the patched canvas—a stark reminder that I'm not just packing up clothes and trinkets, but memories and moments that have shaped me. Closure feels like a myth because every fold and tuck whisper of times I should have cherished more deeply. With Mark, my pack's Alpha, back in the Pine pack village and now my husband by destiny rather than choice, the weight of returning bears down on me.
"Almost done, Isla?" The question pulls me from my thoughts, but it's the absence of a voice that answers my silent plea for more time. Alex's voice, with its smooth cadence that could calm the wildest storms within me, is missing.
I nod to n
