Brian didn't look surprised.
That was the first thing I noticed—the thing that lodged in my chest like a splinter. When I told him about the body in the preserve, about the dead wolf posed with the token in her hand, his face went through the motions of shock. His eyes widened. His jaw tightened. He said all the right words: "Which one?" and "Wolf kill?" and "Someone picked her off."
But the bond didn't lie.
What I felt from him wasn't surprise. It was confirmation. Like a man opening a door and finding exactly what he expected behind it.
He'd known. Maybe not the details. Maybe not this specific death. But something about a dead exile in the preserve fit a pattern he was already tracking.
I filed it away. Said nothing. Let him lead me back toward the compound with his hand warm and p
