He Signed My Freedom Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 22
I looked at the girl’s stubborn, hopeful eyes and remembered how Iris used to grab the hem of my clothes the same way when she was little.
A familiar ache bloomed in my chest.
But I didn’t let the past answer for me.
“I like you very much,” I told her. “But your mom is one of a kind. How about we become very important to each other first, okay?”
Chloe thought about it, then nodded.
On the drive back, she fell asleep in the back seat.
The sunset slanted through the car windows. When I raised a hand to block the light, my sleeve slipped back, revealing the faint marks on my wrist where the guards had pinned me.
Elias saw it in the rearview mirror. His brows knit slightly, but he didn’t ask.
A week later, he came to the bookstore alone with a pot of herbal tea that helped with wolf recovery.
“It doesn’t contain wolfsbane.” He set the ingredient list down beside it. “If your shift was ever blocked, you might have bone pain at night, or wake up startled.”
I froze. “How did you know?”
“I’m a Healer.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “And I’m your friend. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask. But if you ever need help, come find me.”
He didn’t force me to talk about the past. He didn’t touch my wounds without permission.
Ember watched his scent with quiet attention. It wasn’t the pull of a mate, and it certainly wasn’t some irresistible urge imposed by fate. It was simply a kind of safety I hadn’t felt in a very long time.