ELLIE’S POV
The training grounds were eerily quiet after the sparring match, the silence almost unnatural. The younger wolves lingered at the edges of the circle, their voices hushed, whispers brushing against the trees like restless leaves stirred by an unseen hand. Even the wind seemed hesitant to disturb the tension that lingered in the air. The elders had already retreated to the shade beneath the watchful trees, their muttering low and sharp, their faces pale and rigid with something I couldn’t ignore — fear. I could feel it pressing down on me like an invisible weight, thicker than the humidity clinging to the evening air, heavy enough to make my lungs ache.
I stood in the center of the dirt circle, chest rising and falling in ragged breaths, sweat prickling against my skin. The ad
