Asher’s POV

The drive back to pack territory was silent, tense. After tracking Willow down to Ruby’s mom’s place, we agreed it was time to back off, at least for now. She’d been through enough, and part of me knew she needed space. Willow wasn’t the same person I’d grown up knowing; something had changed her, fractured her, and there was a rawness to her that told me she needed a breather before anything else.

But, like everything else these days, that decision came with a sense ...