Lila had always known her blood was different.
Not special in the way songs were written about, or in the way packs bowed their heads in reverence. Different in the way elders spoke more carefully around her. In the way her mother had taught her restraint before strength, silence before command.
In the way power waited instead of demanded.
She had never thought it mattered anymore.
Until the pack began to circle her like wolves unsure whether they were looking at prey… or something that could devour them whole.
The tension after the council meeting did not fade. It coiled tighter.
Caleb felt it every time a patrol passed too close, every time Seren’s gaze lingered on Lila with sharpened calculation. The pack was adjusting, but not peacefully. Whispers followed them through the territ
