Chapter 40: Between Duty and Desire—
Lyra's Point of View
There was a smell of iron and smoke on the battlefield.
The torches burned low as the injured were taken away. We put the dead in quiet lines and covered them with cloaks. Wolves moved quietly now, and the sounds of battle faded into shock and sadness.
I stood where the rogue had fallen.
His words were like a curse that kept coming back to me.
He already knows.
I could feel Raine next to me before I heard him. He was always there, a steady heat at my back, close but careful, like he was afraid that one wrong move would break something fragile.
"Are you sure you're not hurt?" He asked again.
"I'm sure," I said. Even to me, my voice sounded far away.
He looked at my face, looking for something. Not like an Alpha checking on
