Kael's POV
The air was thick, saturated with blood, sweat, and dust, as if the forest itself was holding its breath at the brutality of the scene. Every growl from Skadi, every s***h, every charge that Tara and Nicole barely managed to dodge, echoed in my chest like a dull, deep thud, hurting beyond the physical. Lean and I stood firm, our bodies locked in a desperate struggle to contain this wolf that was Selene and, at the same time, wasn’t.
Because she was still there.
I felt her.
Latent.
Imprisoned.
The Selene we loved was trapped beneath Skadi's savage skin, resisting, fighting, searching for a crack through which to pour her will, even as the wolf kept her crushed under her paw, as if she were a bothersome shadow to be ignored.
But I knew that strength.
I had seen it before,
