THE WEIGHT OF WHISPERING
The whispers did not begin all at once.
They slipped in quietly — like mist threading between trees before anyone notices the forest has changed.
At first, it was practical.
Increased patrol shifts. Guard rotations tightened around the lower clearing. Training sessions moved closer to the central grounds. Nothing overtly alarming. Just precaution.
Elara told herself that was all it was.
Precaution.
Still, she felt the difference.
Wolves who once greeted her without hesitation now paused half a second longer before speaking. Conversations softened when she passed. Not from hostility — from uncertainty.
She couldn’t decide which felt worse.
—
The first public fracture came three days after the ritual.
It happened during morning drills.
Elara had stepped
