DEREK
Derek waited until the packhouse went quiet. Until the last voices faded from the hallways. Until he was sure his father had finally closed his bedroom door for the night.
Then he moved.
His hands shook as he pulled on a dark jacket. His heart pounded so hard he thought someone might hear it through the walls. This was insane. This was betrayal. This was exactly the kind of thing that got wolves executed in his pack.
But he couldn't stop thinking about Ivy's face.
The way she'd looked at him during the ceremony when everything went wrong. The second before she realized he was going to reject her. That moment where she still believed he was going to choose her. Choose her over power. Choose her over his father's commands.
He'd seen that belief die in her eyes.
And now she was out there somewhere, hunted by every pack on the continent, and it was his fault. His weakness. His failure.
