Chapter 17: A Broken Wolf
The forest breathed in silence, each rustle of the leaves stirring shadows across the moonlit clearing. Seren tightened the wrap on her wrists after another brutal round of sparring with Lyra, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. Sweat dampened the loose strands of her hair, clinging to her face. She had learned not to complain, not when Lyra’s cold eyes measured every movement with predatory scrutiny, not when the entire pack seemed to hover at the edge of disbelief that she even belonged here at all.
But tonight, as the training ended and the others dispersed to their duties, Seren felt a gaze lingering on her back. Heavy. Piercing.
She turned, and there he was.
Kaelen leaned against a tree, arms folded across his broad chest, his expression car
