Fear settles over Blood Moon like a living fog.
It doesn’t scream.
It doesn’t attack.
It waits.
Ever since the council chamber, the pack has been restless. Wolves patrol in rotating shifts. The borders are sealed with double wards. No one enters without Zane’s direct permission. Even allies are searched, questioned, tested.
Not all of this is Zane’s command.
Some of it is mine.
Because I can feel the eyes on us.
Watching.
Measuring.
Hunting.
The First Flame has wrapped itself around my womb like a living shield. It pulses low and steady now, a quiet, patient heat that never leaves me. And beneath it—softer, fainter, but undeniable—
The tiny rhythm of a second life.
Zane refuses to leave my side.
He barely lets anyone else breathe near me.
“I can still walk,” I snap softly as
