SHADOWS OF RIVALRY
The morning sun was a muted silver, filtered through the dense forest surrounding the pack’s territory. Mist clung to the edges of the trees, curling like ghostly fingers around the trunks, carrying the scent of wet earth and pine. Elara moved cautiously along the stone path that led from the keep toward the training grounds. Her steps were quiet, deliberate, each one measured, but the faint pulse beneath her skin—something new, something alive—made it impossible to ignore the tension threading through her chest.
Kael walked beside her, silent, storm-gray eyes sweeping the horizon. The night’s ball, the rival Alpha’s gaze, and the Moonbound awakening had left the entire pack restless. Whispers had spread overnight, subtle but sharp, and now the air carried a charged vi
