By the time they got Kian’s friend back to Ivy, the sky had gone from gold to blue‑gray.
“Absolutely not,” Ivy said, hands on hips, curls half out of her bun. “We do not follow squirrels away from supervision, we do not sneak onto patrol paths, and we definitely do not ‘infiltrate Alpha meetings’ without clearance.”
The pup shot Cassian a betrayed look. “You said—”
“I said you could tell her that,” Cassian corrected. “Not that it was a good idea.”
Ivy tried very hard not to laugh. Lyra saw the twitch at the corner of her mouth and the way her eyes softened when she looked at the pup.
“Inside,” Ivy said, pointing. “Homework, then kitchen duty. You can peel potatoes and think about your life choices.”
He slunk past her, muttering. Ivy watched him disappear, then blew out a breath and r
