Lyla had always believed that no matter what happened, her pack would stand beside her.
Even if she made dangerous choices, even if she walked a path no wolf had walked before, they would trust her.
That they would never fear her.
But as she stood beneath the crumbling ruins of the Forgotten City, facing the wolves who had once been her family, she saw the truth written on their faces.
They were afraid.
Not of the Marked Ones who still stood silently behind her.
Not of the Gate of Shadows, which pulsed faintly in the background, still open, still waiting.
But of her.
And the power that had followed her through the Gate.
The wind whispered through the ruins, cold and watchful. The forest, which had once hummed softly in her mind, now spoke in stronger, clearer words.
She is not th
