Chapter 190

Silvia I kept staring at Noah 's text, sitting on the edge of the bleachers that overlooked the Pack's training field. Sunlight baked the earth below, turning the dust to gold and the air thick with heat and adrenaline. The message didn't change, no matter how many times I reread it. But I couldn't stop. "Need some space. Don't worry." The more he said "don't worry," the more I did. I blinked the screen away and looked up, trying to ground myself in something real. Down on the field, Sherman and Orion moved through their drills, bare feet kicking up dust. My son mimicked his father's stance with the kind of focus most kids reserved for video games, his brow furrowed in concentration. Sherman crouched next to him, guiding his arms into the right position. From where I sat, I could hear Orion 's excited breath, the snap of his punches, the soft corrections in Sherman 's low voice. I should've been smiling. But the weight in my chest made it impossible. I lowered the phone to my lap and l