SAGE POV
The first time I arrived at the Bluestone Pack, I hadn’t spared the village so much as a glance. The Alpha Academy had loomed like a fortress, swallowing my thoughts with one singular goal: survive long enough never to go back home. But now, walking through the outer gates for the first time, I noticed this pack's beauty.
The Academy was surrounded by tall, silver-barked trees, their long branches swaying gently in the breeze. A cobbled road curved gently downhill, revealing the village at the foot of the slope, a tapestry of market stalls, crooked houses with blue-tiled roofs, and the rising voice of people trading.
Kai walked in front of me, looking completely unfazed by the busy, large market ahead of us. Children darted between stalls, women haggled over salt-dried meats
