The morning arrived tentatively and softly like it wasn't sure it should be there.
The valley was covered in dense mist. The smell of smoke and damp earth filled the air which lingered long after the fire had died. We were surrounded by the ruins of the pack, which included broken walls, half-burned houses, and the shadows of the people who had once lived there. It wasn’t war anymore. It was the aftermath.
My feet sank into the chilly ground as I strode barefoot through the ash. It used to hum beneath me, alive with the pulse of the Cradle. It simply breathed now. Silently. Maybe exhausted, but still alive.
With the exception of the sound of stone crunching beneath his boots, Thorn followed silently. Since the beginning of the night, he had remained silent. I didn’t press. There were so
