Chapter 99. I Love You

Adeline’s POV

It had been five days in the Nightstalker’s pack, under King Ezra’s roof, and I wouldn’t lie—things were different here.

There was peace, yes, a kind of peace I hadn’t known in a while. But happiness?

Happiness had stayed behind… somewhere far from here.

I carried an emptiness in my chest like a dull ache, and no matter how warm the smiles around me were, I couldn’t do away with the feeling that I had left something—someone—behind.

Theodore.

His name lived in my thoughts like a quiet song, always playing.

The only thing that gave me even a bit of joy these days was tending to the pack’s healing needs.

The little hospital inside the compound had become my second home. I liked being useful. I liked forgetting, even if just for a while.

That afternoon, I had gone into the woods, just a little beyond the North border, searching for herbs. I didn’t expect trouble. The path was familiar.

Then I heard them bef