The quiet that followed Luka's successful, risk-of-exposure rescue was the silence of a held breath. The relief lingered, a sweet scent wafting past the Haven's recycled air, but it was tinged with the bitter taste of peril. The traffic cam recording was a ghost in the machine, an invisible witness to their biggest sin. It was there. That was all that counted.
Lyra's triumph had been tempered: she had crossed the line from subtlety to open, physical intervention. The "Guardian" protocol was now operational, a Damoclean sword suspended over their whole endeavor. With every life-and-death situation Argus found, the pack would have to exercise an impossible choice: save a life and risk being discovered, or stay hidden and let someone die.
Its burden fell on her shoulders as she looked at th
