The den felt smaller after Thorne’s words.
I lay on the furs, still cradled between Aurelius and Cassian, while Thorne paced slowly in front of the hearth. The fire had been rebuilt, flames higher now, casting sharp shadows across his scarred chest and the blade he kept turning in his hand. The metallic glint caught the light every time he moved. Rhythmic. Threatening.
“Rorik is gathering the enforcers,” Thorne said. “We will meet at dusk. The pack needs to know what is coming.”
Aurelius’s hand tightened on my hip. “They already know. They saw the circle. They smelled it. Kael’s name alone will make them sharpen their claws.”
Cassian’s fingers traced the collar at my throat. Slow. Deliberate.
“They will fight,” he said quietly. “For him. For us.”
I pushed myself up on one elbow. The
