The forest was silent tonight—too silent. No rustle of small creatures in the undergrowth, no call of night birds, not even the soft whisper of the wind. Lena stood at the edge of the pack’s training grounds, her heartbeat matching the pounding in her ears.
She wasn’t supposed to be here alone.
Dominic had made that painfully clear: Never be alone after dark, not while Kael is still out there. But staying within the safe, guarded walls of the pack house had felt like being locked in a cage. And cages—no matter how gilded—made her restless.
She gripped the dagger Dominic had given her, the silver glinting faintly in the moonlight. Its weight was a comfort, but also a reminder—she wasn’t safe. Not anywhere.
The bond between her and Dominic was quieter tonight, a faint hum in her blood ra
