I fixed my gaze on Jack, his intense expression cutting through the thick fog of my confusion. As his words echoed in my mind, each syllable felt like a heavy stone dropping into the depths of my consciousness. The chilling realization crashed over me like an icy wave, leaving me momentarily breathless: Thomas must have gone directly to my pack, racing towards them with the misguided belief that I was planning to make a run for it, abandoning my family behind. The very thought coiled tightly around my chest, a vice of fear and disbelief, squeezing the air from my lungs as I struggled to process the implications of it all. What would my family think? Would they sense the turmoil brewing just beyond the surface? My heart raced, caught between the urgency to protect them and the overwhelming
