Lean’s POV
The darkness shattered like glass.
I felt the impact in my chest—
a jolt running through my bones like liquid fire.
I opened my eyes with a dry gasp,
as if I’d been underwater too long.
The air was cold.
Old.
It smelled of dust, damp wood, confinement.
I sat up abruptly, coughing.
My body numb—
but alive.
Whole.
Beside me, another figure moved at the same time.
Sage.
Also awake.
Also... returned.
Our eyes met.
And we didn’t need to speak.
We knew.
Both of us.
Our wolves were back.
I closed my eyes for a moment and felt the echo of what Kael had lived—
the pain,
the battle,
the moment we fell.
And then I understood.
“They were captured,” I said, throat dry.
Sage nodded, solemn.
“And they’ll come for us next.
If they tore us from the bond in battle, i
