Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Aria

The first thing I notice is the quiet.

Not actual silence-there’s nothing silent about a pack-but a different kind of noise. Layered. Alive.

Intentional.

Harmonious.

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The kind of atmosphere tht settles into your soul.

Which it good because the thought of the Assembly returning here when they find out I’ve undergone the

change make me a little more then anxious.

Voices carry across the clearing, low and familiar. Laughter breaks out near the far edge where a group of

wolves-people, I remind myself-are stacking firewood. Somewhere behind me, metal clinks against metal, rhythmic and steady. The scent of smoke curls through the air, mixing with pine, damp earth, and

something warmer-something distinctly them.

Home, my wolf murmurs.

I stiffen.

Sure the place is nice and everyone’s been welcoming so far, but home? I’m not sure there is any place I’d

truely call that.

My wolf take an irritated swipe at me.

She doesn’t argue though.

My chest feels tight in a way I don’t understand.

I shift my weight, arms crossing as I stand just at the edge of everything. Not quite in the clearing. Not

quite out of it.

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Chapter 46

Watching.

Learning.

Trying not to feel like I don’t belong.

“They can feel that, you know.”

I flinch, spinning toward the voice.

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A girl stands a few feet away, hands clasped loosely in front of her. Her blonde hair is held on lose ponytail,

and her brown eyes are soft and warm as manuka honey. She looks about my age-maybe a little younger.

There’s something immediately… calm about her.

Non-threatening.

Submissive, my wolf identifies instantly.

I blink. “Feel what?”

She tilts her head slightly, a small, knowing smile on her lips. “That you’re trying unsure of yourself, or

maybe them. That you are purposefully keeping your distance.”

Heat creeps up my neck. “I’m not-”

“You are,” she says, not unkindly. “It’s okay. We don’t get many new wolves but from my epeirnece the change can be hard on them and not knowing what to expect doesn’t tend to put people at ease.”

“I’m not ‘most wolves,”” I mutter.

Her smile widens just a fraction. “No. You’re not.”

Something in the way she says it makes my stomach twist.

“I’m Quinley,” she adds after a moment. “You can just call me Quin.”

“Aria.”

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Chapter 46

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“I know. The whole pack was excited to meet you before, where you were Liam’s human sister, but now that

you’ve changed, let’s just say we’re excited to see what you bring to the pack.”

I glance back toward the clearing. “So… they can feel it?”

She nods. “Not like mind-reading or anything,” she adds quickly. “It’s more like… emotional scenting.

Energy. The submissives more so.”

“I’ve been working on my scenting. I’m still trying to figure out emotions, though,” I say honestly.

“You’ll get used to it.”

We already feel it, my wolf says. You’re just ignoring it.

“I’m not ignoring anything,” I mutter.

Mara’s brows knit together. “Chatty wolf?”

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“Yeah,” I say quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Doesn’t look at me like it’s anything to be embarrassed about.

“Yeah,” she says softly. “That happens.”

I study her more closely now.

There’s a steadiness to her. A quiet confidence that doesn’t demand attention but holds it anyway.

“So… you grew up here?” I ask.

“In a pack?” she clarifies. “Yeah. My whole life.”

I glance around again, trying to see it through her eyes.

Not strange.

Not overwhelming.

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Chapter 46

Just… normal.

“What’s that like?” I ask.

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She exhales softly, like she’s considering how to explain something that’s always just been.

“It’s… constant,” she says finally. “You’re never really alone. Even when you are.”

I huff a quiet laugh. “That sounds exhausting.”

She smiles. “Sometimes it is. But knowing you have people who will stand beside you through anything is

worth it. Even if they’re nosey bastards most of the time.”

Not to us, my wolf says. We crave it.

I ignore her again.

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