Being home for the holidays should be comforting, a time of joy and happiness surrounded by those you care about most.

Yet, here I am, heart pounding through my chest, tempted to jump back on the plane and fly back. Even though Christmas is only a few days away, home isn’t a place I really want to be.

After years of tear-filled phone calls from Mom, I finally caved, stepping foot back in the town I had avoided for years. All because of a certain alpha, one who made it his mission to chase me out.

I expected high emotions being back there, my wolf having revealed the moment I left this place after lying dormant when I needed her most.

What I didn’t expect was them, or the fact that being around them would trigger a chain of events that I could never come back from.

What started as a small trip to see my family for Christmas became something so much more, altering my life in ways I never thought were possible.