The rescued girl’s words hung in the air like smoke after a wildfire.
Elara Voss knelt beside the young wolf in the infirmary, her silver light still faintly glowing around her hands as she finished healing a deep burn on the girl’s arm. The child — no more than fourteen — clutched Elara’s sleeve with trembling fingers, eyes wide with terror.
“He’s looking for the heart of the silent moon,” she whispered. “Varak said it over and over while they burned our village. He said the mute healer carries it inside her. That once he takes it, no pack will ever stand against him again.”
Elara’s blood ran cold. She signed quickly, and Kai — standing protectively behind her — translated in a low, dangerous voice:
“What exactly did he say? Every word.”
The girl swallowed hard. “He said the curse wa
