The resolve I forged in the courtyard was tested sooner than I expected. The very next evening, the pack gathered for the monthly bonfire, a tradition meant to foster unity and ease tensions. Flames licked at the twilight sky, casting long, dancing shadows against the Keep's outer walls. The air was thick with the scent of roasting meat and woodsmoke, and the low hum of conversation was punctuated by bursts of laughter.
It was a spectacle of normalcy, a performance I was no longer sure I knew how to act in. I stood at the edge of the firelight, a spectator to a life I’d once been part of. Selene was by my side, a solid, reassuring presence, but even she couldn't shield me from the weight of the collective gaze.
Then I saw him. Kaelen.
He moved through the crowd with the easy authority o
