This New Year had been busy.
Busy, chaotic… but fulfilling.
After staying three days at the Hale estate, surrounded by pack elders and distant relatives, I finally returned to Lena's house.
The energy there felt different now.
Without the Wilchers breathing down her neck, Lena seemed to glow. Her skin had color again. Her shoulders weren't always tense like she was bracing for the next attack.
Grant was sitting beside her in the living room.
And surprisingly
He was peeling apples.
Carefully. Slowly.
Cutting them into small pieces and placing them on a plate before offering them to her like a nervous young male trying to win back favor from the Luna of his territory.
Lena didn't look at him.
She sat on the couch crocheting small animals from soft yarn tiny bunnies and bears for the baby.
Over the years, during long lonely nights in a cold bond, she had sharpened her craft skills. When the Alpha of the house was absent in heart, she had learned to survive in silence.
