After breakfast, Spurn disappeared into the bathroom to bathe and get ready. Jacob and Tessa arrived not long after. I let them in quietly, and for a while the three of us spoke in low voices while water ran behind the bathroom door. Jacob kept glancing toward Tessa like he was afraid she might vanish if he looked away too long. Tessa sat close to him, but her shoulders stayed tight, her eyes moving often to the door as if she still expected someone from Moon Howlers to burst in and drag her back into the silence her family had been forced to carry. She was the Gamma’s daughter, not a servant, but Alpha Amos and Beta Blake had made sure the Landish name meant nothing unless they needed it to protect one of their secrets. When Spurn finally came out, she froze halfway across the room. Her e
