*Greenwood — Moonlit Clearing*
Alia sat with the other healers earlier, sorting herbs, her hands moving mechanically while her thoughts refused to settle.
When the laughter of the younger wolves around the fire grew too loud for her restless mind, she slipped away, her feet moved along a winding path lit only by the pale silver of the moon.
That was when she saw him.
Ethan.
He stood just beyond the clearing, leaning against the rough bark of a pine tree, though he wasn’t resting. His entire body was taut, as if braced against something unseen.
His eyes scanned the forest like he expected an enemy to appear at any moment.
Alia stopped, half hidden by the bush, and simply watched him. There was something unbearably lonely about the way he stood, as though he had forgotten how to bre
