The forest didn’t sleep.
It watched.
It learned.
And now—
It watched her.
⸻
Emily felt it the moment they crossed back into pack territory.
Not resistance.
Not acceptance.
⸻
Recognition.
⸻
Like the forest no longer saw her as part of itself—
But something standing outside it.
⸻
Something it couldn’t predict.
⸻
Jack stirred slightly in her arms.
Alive. Warm. Safe.
For now.
⸻
“Easy,” she whispered, brushing her fingers gently through his hair.
“I’ve got you.”
⸻
But even as she said it—
She felt it.
That shift.
⸻
Not in him.
⸻
In her.
⸻
Bellamy walked close beside her, his presence steady, grounded—but his eyes hadn’t left her since they left the clearing.
“You’re quieter,” he said finally.
⸻
Emily didn’t look at him.
“I’m listening.”
⸻
“To what?”
⸻
She
