( Kael's POV )
The Hollow fell into motion like a living thing.
Orders rippled outward from Kael in low, clipped commands, the kind that carried weight without needing to be shouted. Wolves moved through the clearing with purpose, sharpening blades, shifting into their second skins, binding wounds hastily wrapped hours earlier. The storm’s aftermath still clung to the forest, but something sharper now cut through the air.
Not fear.
Readiness.
Aria moved among them, checking packs, handing out fresh bandages, silver-tipped arrows, charms etched with old runes. Her hands didn’t shake, though her pulse beat hard in her throat. Every wolf she passed met her eyes, and she could feel it, the unspoken thing that came when you stood next to the Alpha. She wasn’t Kael’s second. She wasn’t eve
