Ariana’s POV
Silvercrest woke up differently after the incident.
I noticed it the moment I stepped outside the next morning. The pack grounds were the same—warriors training, omegas moving between tasks, the scent of earth and steel lingering in the air—but something beneath the routine had shifted. The usual sharpness was dulled, replaced by a cautious awareness that followed me as I walked.
Not openly. Not rudely.
But undeniably.
Conversations didn’t stop when I passed anymore. Instead, they softened, bent around me, then resumed in lower tones once I was gone. A few wolves nodded in acknowledgment, brief and awkward, as if unsure whether such a gesture was appropriate. Others watched from a distance, eyes narrowed in thought rather than contempt.
Silvercrest was adjusting.
That r
