The rain fell harder.
Heavy drops struck the packed earth of the village square, washing streaks of blood into thin crimson rivers that disappeared between the stones. The storm blurred the edges of Beaumont until everything beyond a few yards became little more than shadow and movement.
No one spoke.
Not after Elyra's words.
I made your mother a promise.
The sentence echoed inside me louder than the war horns had.
My wolf stirred again.
Not urgently.
Patiently.
She was listening.
Waiting.
The warmth beneath my ribs spread slowly through my chest, steady and calm, so different from the panic racing through the rest of me.
The Alpha stepped farther in front of me.
His broad shoulders became a wall between me and the strangers beyond the gate.
"Enough."
His voice was quiet.
C
