They didn’t speak as they left the borderlands. The silence wasn’t relief. It followed them. The forest didn’t ease as they crossed back into pack territory. If anything, it clung tighter… like whatever had been watching them wasn’t bound to the border at all. Dawn had fully broken now, pale light stretching through the trees in thin, uneven strands, but it brought no comfort. The shadows still lingered, long and watchful. Orion kept Selene close as they moved, his presence a steady, unyielding force at her side. He didn’t touch her, not constantly, but she felt him there… every step, every breath. Guarding. Listening. Ready.
Sable ranged ahead, quieter than usual, her movements sharp with focus. Evangeline stayed behind them, her gaze drifting too often toward the trees they had already
