Page 38 of The Pack

The realization slammed into me like a punch to the gut.

He was sent to Dublin.

“Zara, you okay?”

Callum’s voice brought me back to the present, his gray eyes filled with concern as he leaned toward me. “Are you alright?” he pressed further.

I blinked, the memory still fresh in my mind. My hands were trembling, and I clenched them into fists. “I’m okay,” I said, though my voice wavered.

Thorne’s gaze was inquisitive as he studied me, but he didn’t press.

I took a deep breath, my heart still racing as I tried to process what I’d just remembered. My brother was in Dublin. Or at least, that’s where they’d sent him.

And now, for the first time since I arrived in this godforsaken place, I had a somewhere to start.

CHAPTER 8

Thorne Winchester

Zara’s voice trembled as she answered Callum’s question, but she held herself steady.

“I’m fine, I swear,” she said, her words firming up as she forced a faint smile.

I didn’t believe her, not for a second.

She was beautiful, no denying that. Not in an obvious, polished way, but something quieter. Subtle. The firelight cast warm highlights over her dark brunette hair, which tumbled in loose waves down her shoulders. Her high, angular cheekbones caught the glow, and her lips—soft, slightly parted—quivered just enough to betray the storm brewing beneath the surface.

But it was her eyes that held me. Wide, dark blue, and haunted, they gave away more than she probably intended. They carried a knowing look that didn’t belong on someone so young, and yet she bore it with the kind of quiet defiance that reminded me of my son.

I hadn’t taken my eyes off her since we returned to camp. I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap, the way she seemed to be holding herself apart from the group, like a lone wolf circling a pack she didn’t trust.

She was an outsider. A stray.

Our stray,I corrected myself.

She didn’t want to be here. At least, not really, but she knew better. Her best chances were with us, not out in the wilds alone.

I hoped she knew that we’d protect her through anything.

Zara stared into the fire for a moment before looking back at me. For a moment, I thought she might turn away, but she didn’t. Her eyes locked on mine, searching, testing, as though she were trying to decide whether I was friend or foe.

I nodded once, a silent acknowledgment.

Her lips quirked into the barest hint of a smile, and I felt something shift in the air between us. It wasn’t trust, not yet, but it was a start.

She looked down at her hands, twisting them together as though she were gathering courage. When she spoke, her voice was even.

“I remembered my brother,” she said to all five of us.

The firelight flickered, its warm glow painting her face as the rest of the pack fell silent. Even Killian, who rarely stopped grinning or talking, turned his attention to her.

Zara took a deep breath, her hands tightening into fists.

“His name is… was Logan. He was a wolf shifter, like you.” Her gaze lifted, meeting each of ours in turn. “But he wasn’t like the others. He didn’t go feral.”

Magnus leaned forward slightly, his silver eyes narrowing. “How do you know?”

“Because I hid him,” Zara said, her voice trembling now. “For over a year, I kept him hidden in my apartment. A secret room, behind the closet. He didn’t shift unless it was safe. He didn’t hurt anyone. He wasn’t dangerous. He was still…himself.”

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