Selene’s POV
The dead did not speak.
But they listened.
As the fire from the Bloodhowl's advance turned the northern sky red, the Spiral-dead stood behind me like statues, motionless, soulless—waiting.
Waiting for me.
Kade stood to my right, his expression unreadable as he watched me process the weight of it all.
“You said I had to lead the packs,” I said, my voice low. “But I don’t think that’s what the Spiral wants.”
“No,” he said. “It doesn’t want leaders. It wants queens. Or gods.”
“I’m not either.”
He looked at me. “You might not have a choice.”
We returned to Hollowfang under cover of night. The fortress was quiet, eerily so. The usual scent of wolves, earth, and iron had faded. In its place—ashes.
The dead didn’t follow me through the gates. They lingered beyond the tree
