**SAGE’S POV**
**ONE YEAR LATER**
It’s been a whole year since I last saw the pack. Since I last saw Jax.
Sometimes, when I wake up too fast, I forget where I am. My heart races and for a second I think I’m back at the Moonfire packhouse — in my big bedroom on the Alpha floor, hearing the sounds of morning training outside. But then I see the cracked ceiling above my head and the faded paint peeling off the walls, and I remember: I’m not Sage of the Moonfire Pack anymore.
I’m Lena, a waitress at Benny’s Diner. Just another human girl trying to make rent.
My apartment is small and smells faintly like old wood and dust. It’s not dangerous, just run-down — one room, a small kitchen, a bathroom that rattles when the pipes groan. I keep everything packed lightly. A duffel bag under my bed,
