VANESSA'S POV
The silence was the first sign.
For three days, we worked. We placed the charged moonstone shards at the nexus points Sage Nolan identified. With each stone that sank into the earth, the psychic shield around our territory grew stronger, weaving a net of silent, shimmering energy. The constant, low-level anxiety that had gripped the pack since the probe began to ease. The air itself felt cleaner, safer.
The oppressive feeling of being watched had vanished.
We had grown accustomed to the quiet. Perhaps too accustomed.
I was in the nursery, using the gentle, nurturing aspect of my power to soothe a colicky pup, when it happened.
It wasn't a probe. It wasn't the oily, arrogant violation from before.
It was an echo.
A faint, distorted cry that slithered through the newly
