POV: Mia (Zero)
The torchlight died as I ascended from the vault, but the darkness followed me, clinging to my skin like sweat. The air outside had shifted. Even the wind moved different now—sharp, unsettled, like the mountain knew what had been awakened beneath it.
Nova said nothing as we emerged. She didn’t need to. Her silence was louder than any protest. Alex kept close behind, too close, like he thought proximity might anchor me to something solid. But there was nothing solid left in me. Just questions.
At the edge of the clearing, the rest of the pack waited. Not all—only the high ranks. Wolves who had fought in the fire years. Wolves who had buried siblings, mates, children. Eyes filled with stormlight and memory. They saw me now the way a pack watches its wounded leader—ready to
