Ruby’s POV
The mock raid hangs over the pack like a storm. Every conversation circles back to it. Every step in the yard feels like practice for something even worse.
I leave the infirmary with fresh bandages under my shirt. Cindy steps into the doorway, blocking my path. Her pale hair is pulled back, jaw tight, eyes sharp in the dim light.
“Ruby,” she says. “A word.”
It sounds like an order, but I stop anyway.
“Of course,” I say. “What do you need?”
“I need to know if you’re persuasive,” she says, her smile thin. “I assume you passed along my small, reasonable request. But I haven’t seen Tyler at my table.”
The guilt I thought I buried stirs in my chest.
“I talked to him,” I say. “He wants to focus on training. He thinks if the mock raid goes badly, your elders will tear you apart
