Chapter 122

Melanie’s POV

Time has this weird way of speeding up and dragging its feet all at once. The past few weeks? Simultaneously a blur and an eternity.

Asher became Theo’s full-time babysitter slash snack dispenser slash professional tantrum tampon. Me? I supervised covertly, thanks to my wolf’s obsession with Asher. Seriously, she’d follow him to the ends of the earth if there were cookies there. Theo warmed up to Asher, too—calling him something like “Ehwt,” which I’m 99 percent sure was toddler-level for “Asher.” Cue my heart melting into a puddle of goo at the cuteness. Meanwhile, every extra day I spent wolfing around must have made Theo sniffy—he grew a smidge grumpier, but Asher sidestepped meltdown-ville with backup snacks and goofy games.

They’d fallen into a solid routine. Which left me wondering: what on Earth was holding my wolf back from shifting me? Asher exhibited zero nastiness or impatience—only an infuriatingly upbeat grin and laugh that outshon