By midday, the pack had stopped pretending things were normal.
They were acting normal.
There was a difference.
Denise noticed it in the way conversations paused when she passed, then resumed too quickly.
In the way people didn’t look at her directly—but also didn’t avoid her anymore.
It wasn’t rejection.
It wasn’t acceptance either.
It was recalibration.
Like the entire pack was quietly rewriting how she fit into their world.
And no one had asked her permission for that part.
Liam stayed close as they moved through the training grounds.
He wasn’t hovering.
But he also wasn’t far.
A constant presence at her side that made it very clear to everyone watching: she wasn’t alone anymore.
Denise stopped near the edge of the clearing.
“You know they’re going to formalize it,” she s
