The quiet after Alden left did not feel empty.
It felt rearranged.
Like furniture moved in the night — familiar, but different enough that you noticed every step.
Lila felt it most in the mornings.
Alden had always been up before the sun, moving through the courtyard with quiet purpose. Checking patrol rosters. Listening to elders who rose early. Standing near the training ring like he was already measuring what kind of Alpha he wanted to be.
Now the courtyard greeted dawn without him.
But it did not stand still.
Elowen filled the space without trying to.
She didn’t take Alden’s role — she wasn’t meant to. But she moved with a new steadiness, a quiet awareness that the pack still needed someone who noticed the small things.
She carried her journal everywhere now.
Not because anyo
