The gathering didn’t end with ceremony.
It ended with movement—slow, deliberate clusters of wolves breaking apart, conversations resuming in low, guarded tones. The tension didn’t lift. It simply changed shape.
Aisha stayed where she was beside Callen, posture straight, expression calm, even as her nerves screamed.
She could feel eyes following her as the hall emptied. Some curious. Some hostile. Some calculating.
Callen leaned slightly toward her. “I’ll be right back,” he said quietly. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She nodded. “I won’t.”
As he stepped away—drawn into a conversation with two elders—Aisha became painfully aware of how exposed she felt without him beside her.
Wolves passed close, close enough that she could smell them, feel the heat of their bodies.
Then one of them stopped
