Erik led her through the crowded heart of Clan One, his hood drawn low, his shoulders squared like a shield against the world for her.
The streets pressed in on Rey. It wasn't as cold as Crasmere, yet the wind still found her skin, raising goosebumps across her arms. Everywhere she looked, life pulsed with a distorted normalcy.
Stalls piled with fruit, bolts of fabric, and carved trinkets glittering under oil lamps as they passed by the shopping district. The voices of Lycans rose above the din—rough laughter, snarls of barter, and the clink of gold coins.
But it wasn't the market that made Rey's stomach twist.
It was the humans she saw.
Not free, never free.
They shuffled beside their masters with collars biting into their throats, iron chains clinking with every step. Some bore bru
