(Kealen)
The first person to notice was Bren.
We were in the training yard — I was watching Joss run the younger wolves through footwork drills, not participating, just observing the way I do now that Mira has strong opinions about what my body is and isn't doing — and Bren came up beside me and looked at my stomach with the direct, unfiltered assessment that only seven-year-olds deploy without embarrassment.
"You're getting bigger," he said.
"Yes," I said.
He thought about this. "Is there a pup in there?"
"Yes."
He nodded, apparently satisfied, and went back to the drills. Just like that. The most uncomplicated acknowledgment I'd received, which was funny because every adult in the house had been tiptoeing around the visible evidence for two weeks like they needed permission to see
