Chrystal crouched, her dagger in her hand.
A wolf she had not expected stepped out of the deep shadows of the trees. Unlike during her Bonding Ceremony, the moon tonight was hidden behind clouds, lending a blackness to the surroundings that was almost ethereal.
“Hana,” Chrystal croaked.
The tall she-wolf with the scars stared at her as she took two slow steps forward.
The she-wolf in question had been staring Castian almost eyeball to eyeball when they had entered the rogue’s lair.
Standing at her full height, Chrystal wouldn’t pass her nose.
At the moment, though, Chyrstal was at her knee level, gazing up with a gradually stony expression as she pulled all her emotions back inside herself, reclaiming her calm exterior.
Hana eyed the noble as she started a slow, deliberate pace in a
