Returning to the packhouse after training felt like stepping from a storm into eerie calm. Outside, the warriors had channeled fierce determination, but within the walls of the packhouse, a different kind of energy simmered—an unsettling quiet. It felt like the entire place was holding its breath, waiting for something inevitable. I wasn’t sure if it was the threat of approaching danger or the collective weight of our responsibilities pressing down on all of us, but whatever it was, it had everyone on edge.
Maeve walked beside me, her face a carefully constructed mask of calm confidence. But after everything we’d been through together, I could see past the mask. She was worried, though she would never admit it. Her strength was one of the things I admired most about her, but part of me wi
