Chapter 10 #3
“You always this bossy?” Sera asked me once, elbow-deep in bandages. I’d just told her how to manage one patient because I’d seen the exact same injury before and knew how to handle it.
“Only when it matters,” I answered with a smirk.
Zara snorted. “So, always then.”
I learned a lot about the two of them during that time.
Zara talked with her hands when she was tired. She had a habit of checking the door every few minutes, not from fear but out of old habit. When she smiled, it was full and bright and lit up her entire face.
Sera was quieter. She listened more than she spoke, eyes tracking everything.
When she did talk, it was blunt and honest, like she’d made peace with the parts of herself that didn’t fit neatly anywhere.
She laughed hardest at the darkest jokes, and when someone screamed in pain, she was the first to lean in and help.
By the second night, exhaustion set in like a slow creeping fog.
We slept in shifts. The Watch patrolled the tree line. The fence was reinforced with scrap and wire. Someone else cooked a pot of stew that tasted like salty comfort food. We ate standing up, leaning against walls, bowls warming our hands.
On the third day, the injured began to sit up.
Seamus opened his eyes and asked for water. Clara slept for six uninterrupted hours and woke up aggravated about it. Bishop’s shoulder knitted together and was almost fully healed now.
That night, we gathered by the fire pits, new ones dug away from the graves.
Stories came out then, cautious at first, then freer.
Killian told a ridiculous version of the fight that had people laughing despite themselves.
Jamie listened, eyes bright, then added a detail that made them laugh even harder.
I watched the men from a distance.
Elias spoke less than the others, but when he did, people leaned in. Griff moved through the group with his own sense of gravity. Nox sat on the edge of the light, always listening. Bishop maneuvered with the skill of a politician, collecting smiles and laughs everywhere he went.
When the work finally slowed and there was nothing left to do but breathe, the three of us girls sat together near one of the campfires outside.
Zara stretched her legs out and stared into the flames like she could bully them into telling her secrets.
Sera sat with her back to a crate, posture loose but alert, eyes scanning the tree line every few minutes.
I kept my knife in my lap without thinking about it, thumb stroking the worn leather wrap the way some people rubbed prayer beads.
For a few minutes, none of us spoke.
Zara broke the silence first.
“So,” she said, voice rough from exhaustion. “We’re still alive.”
Sera’s mouth twitched. “For now.”
“Always with the optimism,” Zara muttered as she stared in Sera’s direction, then looked at me. “Since we seem to be in this together, we should get to know each other better.”
I nodded once. “Makes sense. Want to go first then? What’s your story?”
Zara exhaled slowly, eyes on the fire. “Sure thing. I’ll start. Well, I woke up in Ireland wearing basically nothing and no memory of how I got there. Then I was attacked by a few feral wolves.”
“That sounds rough,” I replied.
“I killed one,” she went on. “With a stick. I stabbed it through the chest.” Her jaw tightened.
I saw Sera smile faintly at that, but she didn’t interrupt.
Zara’s eyes flicked up to the dark sky, then back down. She swallowed. “And then I was attacked again. By a whole feral pack. I would’ve died if they hadn’t shown up.”
“Your pack, you mean,” I clarified quietly, guessing at who she meant.
“Yes,” Zara confirmed, and there was clear affection in her tone when she said it. “They saved me.”
Sera snorted faintly. “How romantic.”
Zara shot her a look. “It wasn’t romantic, at least not at first. The romance came later.”
I couldn’t help a small smile. Zara was fierce in a way that felt familiar.
“They weren’t feral like I expected,” she continued. “They could shift in and out of wolf form without losing themselves.” She rubbed her palms together as if she could still feel the chill of that forest. “Then my memories started coming back.”
Sera’s head tilted slightly. Interested despite herself.
“I remembered that I had a brother,” Zara said, voice quiet but strong.
“Logan. He got bitten by a wolf, but he never went feral. Not even close. He was still himself. I mean, you and Sera know that.” I watched her throat work around a ball of emotion she was trying to swallow.
“I hid him in my apartment in London. There was a secret room behind the closet.”
Sera’s expression flickered with a range of emotions, but she didn’t look surprised.
Zara kept going, relentless. “London found us. They arrested me for harboring him and dragged him out.” Her hands curled into fists. “I remembered the truck that took him. The city painted on the bumper.”
She looked straight into the fire when she said it, probably seeing the letters burned behind her eyes.
“They’d taken him to Dublin.”
A gust of wind shifted the smoke. The fire popped. For a moment none of us spoke.
“So, I told Magnus and the others, and they agreed we’d go, even knowing how dangerous Dublin was. They promised that we’d find him.” She glanced sideways at me, her eyes bright. “And we did. Eventually.” Then she turned toward Sera. “Your turn.”
Sera stared into the fire for a long moment before she spoke, like she had to decide which parts of herself she was willing to reveal.
“I grew up in London too,” she began. “My brother Jacob was killed when I was eleven. A wolf shifter tore him apart.”
Zara’s face softened, just a fraction.
Sera didn’t look at either of us. “After that, I joined the Watch… the organization that hunted wolves. I trained. I became good at it. Too good.”
There was no pride in her words. Just simple fact.
“Then I was sent to Dublin to hunt Logan Yorke,” she continued. “And when I found him, I tried to kill him.”
Zara’s mouth tightened. “You tried to shoot him.”
“Yes,” Sera said simply. Her hands flexed once on her knees. “I thought wolves were monsters wearing human faces. I thought I was doing the world a favor.”
She finally looked up then, eyes bright with emotion. “Then the mate bond happened.”
My brows rose. “That sounds like the worst possible timing.”
Sera snorted. “Tell me about it.”
She gestured vaguely. “I ran. They chased me. Logan, Jamie, and Edward, all of them claiming they were my mates.” Her cheeks went faintly pink, which surprised me more than anything she’d said so far. “Aidan and Declan came later.”
For a beat, the fire was the only sound, then they both turned to look at me
“My turn then?” I said quietly.
Both of them nodded.
I turned away and stared into the fire, watching the embers glow, then took a deep breath.
“I grew up on the Isle of Skye,” I began. “We had something rare there.”
“What do you mean?” Zara asked softly.
I swallowed. “Humans and wolves lived together. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good. No wolf went feral. People worked the land. Hunted. Fished. Shared food. Shared watch rotations. Just shared life,” I nodded, the memory of home taking me over in an instant.
Sera’s eyes narrowed. “London would’ve hated that.”
“They did,” I said. “On my fifteenth birthday, the British came with ships and guns. They came with an army. They wiped out most of my people.”
Zara’s face softened. “Your parents?”
“They died,” I spoke plainly, trying not to let my voice shake with grief. “They burned our commune. They killed wolves and humans alike. I escaped with Griff.”
Zara and Sera stayed quiet, letting me tell my story.
I took a breath. “After Skye, I couldn’t accept the lie that all wolves go feral. I’d seen that it wasn’t true. I’d lived it. So, I started the Accord, with Griff, quietly at first. We smuggled wolves out of London. Provided safehouses for those that needed it.”
Zara nodded slowly, eyes shining. “You created a network.”
“Yes,” I said. “I wanted to spread the message that humans and wolves can live together in peace, that wolves are not the enemy London makes them out to be.”
Sera’s mouth thinned. “London needs an enemy to keep people obedient.”
“Exactly,” I said.
Zara’s gaze held mine. “I’m in.”
I blinked. “Zara—”
She cut me off. “Don’t overthink it. I’ve had wolves save my life. Fuck, I’m mate bonded to five of them. I’ve watched London try to erase my brother for existing. If the Accord is working toward a better world for wolves and humans, I want to be a part of that.”
My chest tightened. “Thank you.”
Sera was quieter. Her fingers tapped once against her knee. Then she said a bit grudgingly, “I want in too.”
Zara arched a brow. “You do?”
Sera rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so shocked.”
I studied her face. “Why?”
Sera’s jaw clenched, then relaxed. “Because I’m tired of being someone else’s weapon.” She looked into the fire, then back at me. “And because I want to help.”
Zara’s expression softened. “That’s… decent of you.”
Sera snorted. “Don’t get used to it.”