Lyra's POV
I stood frozen where Astra’s words had left me, the forest suddenly feeling far less familiar than it had an hour before, every shadow between the trees looking like it might hold something watching.
“Who was that?” I asked,
“You said we're no longer the only ones who know”
“He wasn't an ordinary wolf” Astra said, “Your awakening is no longer as secret as we hoped it might stay”
“Then who knows? How many?”
“Some will want to protect the White Wolf” she said,
“Others will want to control her, a few will want her gone entirely” She paused, “You can no longer assume these woods are safe, Lyra. Not the way you once did”
I said nothing for a long moment, turning that over in my mind. I decided walking back toward the village that I wouldn't tell anyone yet not Martha, not
