However, there is something I need to confirm for her.

I pull away so I can look her in the eye. “You have to understand, Sophia. I am not rejecting you because I want to. I don’t care if your wolf is latent. That is of the least consequence to me. I would choose you in a heartbeat if it were up to me.”

Her sharp intake of breath doesn’t escape me.

“But if I am selfish and choose you, I will be unable to protect the pups of my pack. My people have suffered for years. We have faced so ...