Chapter 114

Asher’s POV

Melanie’s wolf padded out of the townhouse like a furry shadow—silent, sleek, and entirely too possessive for my comfort. I scooped up Melanie’s phone and keys from the porch rail in one hand, snagged her neatly folded pile of clothes under my other arm, and managed not to trip over my own sneakers in the process. Score one for dexterity under pressure.

I unlocked her Camry—the one with either a 2002 or 2003 badge of honor that had already racked up 190,000 miles—and crouched down to wrestle her toddler, Theo, into his car seat. My hands were still rebelling against me, twitchy and awkward, but I clicked and clipped until the little guy was snug as a bug. He was still fast asleep, hair fanned out like spun sugar and rumpled enough to make me smile even in my adrenaline haze.

Once he was secured, I closed the back door gently—no part of me wanted to wake him—and swung myself into the driver’s seat. Melanie launched herself in on the passenger side