The den was quiet in a way that pressed against my chest.
Every sound, every crackle from the hearth, every subtle movement of fur under my skin carried weight. Nothing had changed outside. Kael was still moving closer, scouts probably probing, wind carrying distant threats. But inside, everything had shifted. I could feel it in the tension that radiated from Thorne, from Aurelius, from Cassian. And now, it was coming from me too.
I sat on the furs, thighs slightly parted, heat coiling low in my body. My pulse pounded in rhythm with my awareness of them. They were close, but not crowded, each guarding a space I could move in. A space they had never given me before. The understanding was silent, unspoken, but unmistakable. I had moved, and they had adjusted. The balance had fractured.
Th
