The silence after the battle did not feel like peace.
It felt like the moment just before something breaks.
Luna stood at the center of the clearing, her breathing steady but her senses still fully awake. The forest around her had not returned to normal. Even though Korven and his pack had retreated, the air still carried the pressure of their presence, as if the ground itself remembered what had just happened.
Ethan stood a short distance away, watching her closely.
There was something different in the way he looked at her now. Not confusion. No hesitation. It was recognition, deeper than before. As if something inside him had finally aligned with what he had been sensing for a long time but never fully understood.
Luna lowered her gaze briefly as she tried to steady herself. The sur
