Kora’s POV
We didn’t return to the compound until well after sunset. The forest was eerily quiet as we passed through—the kind of silence that doesn’t soothe but warns. The last time we’d come this way, Aaron’s shadow had haunted every tree. Tonight, it was gone. But I could feel something else lingering—like the residue of his presence clinging to the air, unwilling to let go completely.
By the time we reached the gates, most of the pack was waiting. When they saw the scorch mark on Mara’s cloak and the soot on my hands, the whispers began again.
“She burned it?”
“She did. They say she can feel the marks.”
“Or maybe she made them…”
The last voice was quieter but sharper. Edward’s low growl silenced it instantly.
He led me straight inside the packhouse, ignoring everyone else. The m
