Reza
The first thing I learn about the Alpha floor is that it doesn’t isolate.
It concentrates.
I feel it the moment I step into the stairwell. The air is the same, wood, stone, the layered scent of the pack, but awareness presses against my skin like quiet gravity.
Starla lifts her head.
- They are watching. she tells me.
- Measuring. I agree.
That feels closer to the truth.
By the time I reach the lower level, the packhouse is fully awake. Patrol wolves returning, others heading out, voices crossing in the comfortable chaos of morning.
And then, a pause.
Not silence.
Just a subtle shift in the current of attention when I step into the room.
I don’t stop.
I don’t acknowledge it.
I walk forward like I belong exactly where I am.
Starla hums low, pleased.
- Good, she says. Do
