Chapter 8: Whispers in the Wind (Elara's POV)
The ancient moonstone sentinels stood tall and silent around me, their crystalline surfaces glittering in the dappled sunlight. I trailed my fingers across the rough bark of a nearby oak, feeling the energy pulsing through the sacred grove.
This small forest had always been my sanctuary.
When I was young, my mother would bring me here to teach me about our pack's connection to the land. Now, I came seeking solace from the whispers that followed me everywhere else.
"Murderer," they said. "Exile."
In the pack marketplace, mothers pulled their pups closer when I passed. In the healing den, other healers suddenly found urgent tasks elsewhere when I arrived.
But here, among the moonstone sentinels, there was only peace.
I settled at th
