The silence after the battle was worse than the fight itself.
No one moved at first.
The forest stood still, as if holding its breath in the aftermath of what Lena had just done. Wolves slowly shifted back into human form, their expressions no longer just wary—but uncertain.
Not of Dylan.
Of her.
Lena stood in the center of the clearing, chest rising and falling unevenly as the last traces of gold flickered across her skin. The power hadn’t drained this time.
It lingered.
Settled.
Like it belonged there.
Dylan approached her carefully, not as an Alpha asserting control, but as someone stepping toward something powerful enough to push him back.
“Lena,” he said quietly.
She turned toward him slowly.
“I didn’t lose it,” she said.
“No,” he replied. “You didn’t.”
Her voice tremble
