Blake POV
I don’t soften the order.
“Every free moment you have,” I tell Elle, my voice calm but absolute, “you train.”
She stands across from me in the training chamber, sweat still clinging to her skin, eyes bright with the sharp edge of exertion rather than fear. She doesn’t bristle. She doesn’t flinch.
She nods.
“I know,” she says. Not resignation. Acceptance.
Good.
I step closer, lowering my voice—not because I doubt her, but because what comes next matters. “You already know how to survive. You know how to disappear. Those instincts kept you alive when the world was cruel.”
Her gaze doesn’t waver.
“But what’s coming won’t always allow hiding,” I continue. “And survival alone isn’t enough anymore. Not if they find us. Not if they come through those wards.”
Her wolf lifts, at
