Silas waits until Ace steps away.
Not far. Just enough that the air between us cools from pressure to tension. Ace doesn’t leave the clearing entirely—he never would—but he gives Silas space to speak.
That alone tells me this matters.
Silas turns to me, expression composed, eyes sharp in the dark. His magic hums low, contained, like it’s bracing for the words before I am.
“You need to understand what happened back there,” he says.
“I know Ace protected me,” I reply.
Silas’s mouth tightens. “He did more than that.”
He pauses, choosing his words carefully. “The alpha didn’t accept mercy. He accepted leverage.”
My stomach sinks.
Silas folds his hands behind his back, posture calm in a way that feels deliberate. “Ace agreed to a Blood Call.”
I frown. “What does that mean?”
“It means
