"I like it," Reed hummed in approval as he walked through the empty house. "It's much bigger than that shoebox apartment you called a house." I rolled my eyes at my brother and looked around. It was bigger, but I wasn't sure I shared the same sentiments as Reed. Noticing my lack of response, Reed paused and turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"It just...it feels empty," I told him and I didn't mean because there were no items in it. Maybe empty wasn't the right word, lonely? It felt lonely.

"That's just because you haven't actually moved in yet. Give it some time and I'm sure it'll grow on you."

"It's not that," I shook my head and took a seat against the wall. "Back at the apartments, everyone was still close by. It was kind of like having an official pack, you know? Here, there's only me."

"Do you want to move back into the apartments?" Reed questioned.

I'd be lying if I said the idea hadn't crossed my mind, but I shook my head. "No, it wouldn't feel the same."

A large part of why I stayed there in the first place was because of Arlo and then Eli. Now that Eli was leaving and Arlo and I hadn't talked much, it didn't feel right to stay there.

"It'll grow on me," I repeated his words. If I continued to do so then maybe it'd become the truth.

"You could always come back home," Reed said quietly. "Mom, Dad, and I miss you, you know."

"Reed."

"Cronan."

"I can't," I told him. "You know that."

"It's been years, Cronan."

"Reed, drop it."

"Don't you want more than this, Cro?" Reed questioned, ignoring my request. "A pack? To be with your fam—"

"What I want is for you to stop talking," I snapped more aggressively than intended.

I knew his words came from good intentions, but I didn't want to hear them. I knew that he was worried about me. For a lack of better words, I was stuck in a state of limbo since I found out about Fen. That was a large part of why Reed and I looked into houses in the area. He thought a change in scenery would help me, but since I wasn't willing to leave Oakwood, this was the middle ground.

It was fucking embarrassing to admit that he'd had such an effect on me. Fen and I hadn't been together for long and half the time it was back and forth bantering, but still, it hurt me more than I cared to admit when I found out about what he'd done to Eli.

"Have you seen him?" Reed asked me, noticing where my mind had traveled to.

"No, but I know he's still here."

I could feel him when I went to certain places and his scent still lingered. I knew he wasn't staying at Reuben's place anymore, but I wasn't sure where he could be. According to Eli, Fen wasn't the type to go out of his way to make friends. He preferred to keep his group small which only left me with more questions about where he could be.

"You're worried about him," Reed accused.

"I'm not," I scowled.

"It's okay if you are—"

"I'm not," I repeated more sternly. "I don't care where he is."

"Okay," Reed said, but I could tell he didn't believe me.

"You're leaving today, right?" I asked.

"I can stay if you want me to."

"You hate Oakwood," I reminded him.

"I love you though," he countered.

I didn't reply immediately. Reed and I weren't the type of siblings that verbally expressed our feelings for each other. None of our family was. Our love language was actions, but I knew that if he was saying it then he truly meant it.

"I'll be fine. Go back home, I'm sure Mom and Dad are already missing you," I lightly teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't get me started on them. They've been extra clingy since I told them about Eli and Willa. It's like they think I'm going to pack up one day and never look back."

"You know how paranoid they get," I muttered.

"Yeah, they mean good though," he sighed.

"Sometimes. Do you remember how they reacted when they found out about Arlo?"

Reed winced at that. "Don't remind me."

I could still remember it clear as day. It was the first and the last time my parents came to Oakwood. They hadn't announced their visit beforehand, so when they arrived unannounced at my apartment, they received a less-than-holy welcome.

"I guess, in a way, it's a good thing that you two weren't mates. They'd never accept him," Reed said.

I scoffed. "They'll never accept me."

His eyes immediately shot to mine. "Cronan—"

"Come on. I want to get my stuff inside before it gets too dark," I interrupted him.

I could tell Reed wanted to talk about what I'd said, but he didn't push. He nodded and followed me out to the truck and the two of us started to unload all the furniture.

"This reminds me of when you first moved to Oakwood," Reed broke the silence. "You took nothing with you besides the bare essentials and left. I remember how shocked everyone was. Now here you are with your own place in this town."

"I never planned to stay in Oakwood for this long," I admitted. "The place just kind of grew on me."

At first, I told myself that the only reason I stayed was because of Arlo, but that wasn't completely true. As much as I hated to admit it, Oakwood felt more like a home to me than my own pack did. I knew this small town like the back of my hand—I knew the people, the best restaurants, the places in the woods that were safe to shift and the ones to avoid. I knew it all.

Oakwood was ironically one of the only predictable things in my life.

Reed and I finished unloading the last of my furniture and I glanced around again.

"Is that any better?" He asked, but his words fell deaf to my ears.

It all looked right, but that was the problem. Everything had memories attached to it. I could remember the movies Eli and I watched, the dinner dates Arlo and I had, and the night I'd brought Fen back to my home. The night I'd let him kiss me and probably would've done much more if Eli and Reuben hadn't shown up.

The night I learned about what he'd done.

"It's fine," I managed to say, but it wasn't. It was all too much. "I'll be back."

I rounded the corner before Reid could respond and entered the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I leaned against it and exhaled sharply. My eyes drifted up to the ceiling and I glared.

Why did it have to be him? Out of all the people in the world, the Moon Goddess had decided to mate me with Fen. She looked at us and decided that we were meant to be and knowing that...knowing he'd always be connected to me in some way fucked with my head and heart more than I wanted to admit.

I waited twenty-two years only to end up with him.

My hands clenched into tight fists and I glanced over at the mirror. Dark curls and blue eyes stared back at me and even though I knew he wasn't here, it still felt like I could feel Fen's lips on mine; I could still feel them against my neck and the sparks that were left in their wake.

I hated him; I loathed him. I repeated the words and yet, it seemed that with every breath, the less sure of them I became.