POV: Elara
The tension within the pack had been building since Dante’s return. It lingered in the air like an unspoken challenge, simmering just below the surface. Every day, I felt it in the wary glances cast his way, in the careful silences that followed when he entered a room. It wasn’t outright rebellion—at least, not yet—but it was enough to make it clear: Dante’s presence was a disruption the pack wasn’t prepared for.
I knew this would happen. Trust, once broken, wasn’t easily mended, especially in a pack that had endured as much division as ours. Yet, I had made my choice. Dante had proven himself to me, and I would not waver in my decision to keep him here. The pack might question him, might question me, but I wasn’t about to let that shake my authority.
The morning sun barely t
