~ Alaric’s POV ~
They whispered it first—soft as wind through the pines. A murmur here. A sidelong glance there. But it didn’t take long before silence twisted into poison. I felt it the moment I stepped out of the packhouse.
When we reached the training ground… The air felt kind of heavy.
I didn't want Sera to go through anything worse after the nightmare, so I asked her to rest. I tried to find out without her knowledge what was going on inside the packhouse, but I didn't find anything.
Even after morning, they continued to whisper to each other.
Not just with the scent of morning dew clinging to pine needles, but with judgment. Suspicion. Fear. It seeped into every breath, coiled around every heartbeat.
When I gazed at Sera, she stood there—still and far too fragile, pretending n
