The forest was quiet.
Sera sat on a fallen log, watching the moon rise through the canopy. Lumi was at the pack house with Garrett, finally sleeping after the chaos of the day.
She heard him before she saw him. That familiar tread. That subtle displacement of air.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," Dax said.
"Since when do you care?"
He didn't answer. Just sat down on the log beside her. Not close. Not far. Just... there.
They sat in silence for a long moment.
"I was wrong," he finally said.
Sera's breath caught.
"About you. About what happened five years ago." He stared at the moon. "I should have investigated. Should have questioned the evidence. Should have—"
"Should have trusted me."
"Yeah." A long exhale. "That too."
She looked at him. At the lines on his face. At the weig
