Darius’s POV
Ironfang no longer felt like mine. That realization followed me through every corridor I walked. Not because anyone challenged my authority directly.
That would have been easier. No, it was the silence that changed.
The hesitation. Warriors stopped speaking freely the moment I entered rooms now. Council members watched me too carefully during meetings.
Even patrol captains answered like they were measuring every word before giving it to me. The pack felt unstable beneath my feet.
And somehow, every road led back to her.
I stepped onto the upper terrace overlooking the eastern training grounds just as movement below caught my attention.
Kaelira.
And the Lycan.
Again.
They stood near the lower strategy tables surrounded by scattered maps while two warriors moved suppl
