In the days following the gala, the Moonrise territory was unsettled, a kind of restlessness permeating the air. It wasn’t the usual kind of tension that followed a council edict or a diplomatic visit—it was something deeper, more personal. Rumours, once whispered in the shadows, began to spread like wildfire, weaving their way through the pack, rippling outwards with a force that was impossible to ignore.
The return of the neutral delegation had brought more than just trade updates; it had sparked a new wave of intrigue, one that focused on the quiet healer, Aria Hartfield. Her presence at the gala had turned heads, upending what many thought they knew. Gone was the timid woman who once hid in the corners, overlooked and dismissed. In her place stood a woman who had faced loss, exile, an
