The clearing remained unnaturally still.
Rowan stood at the center of it all, chest rising and falling as he tried to steady his breathing. The faint glow of the Moonborn mark had faded, but the energy it released still lingered in the air like the aftermath of lightning.
Every wolf present felt it.
And none of them understood it completely.
Marcus was the first to break the silence.
“Well,” he said, dragging a hand down his face. “That’s new.”
Rowan exhaled slowly.
“You keep saying that like it’s supposed to make me feel better.”
Marcus grinned.
“It doesn’t.”
Lyra didn’t speak.
Her silver eyes remained locked on Rowan, studying him in a way that made something shift uncomfortably beneath his skin.
Not fear.
Awareness.
Like being seen in a way he wasn’t used to.
“You heard t
