( Aria's POV )
The first light of morning was colorless, a dull gray that seeped through the trees like ash. The forest had gone still, unnaturally so. Not even the birds stirred. Every sound we made, the crunch of boots, the soft rustle of cloaks, felt like a violation of something sacred and dangerous.
Kael led the way. His steps were steady, silent, his blade strapped across his back. But I could feel the storm inside him. The revelation from Lyra, the whisper that Jaxon, his most trusted Beta, might be the traitor, had changed something in him. His movements were sharper, his words fewer. He was the Alpha now, entirely, and the man I loved was hidden somewhere behind the steel in his eyes.
Lyra walked a few paces behind me, hood drawn low. Her presence was quiet, almost ghostlike,
