Dawn broke without warmth.
The sky was a bruised gray, the snow beneath it stained with the memory of blood. Bells tolled through the keep—low, solemn, and warning—calling the pack from their dens and quarters to the Great Hall once more.
Not for celebration.
For judgment.
From Kael’s chambers, I felt the shift ripple through the bond the moment he stepped into the corridor. His resolve settled into something cold and immovable, like ice formed under unbearable pressure.
This time, he would not hesitate.
Rowan returned to escort me just as the bells fell silent.
“You’ll stay behind the barrier,” he told me quietly, fastening a thin silver band around my wrist. “It’ll keep hostile dominance from pressing you flat. Not all of them are bound to Kael anymore.”
“I won’t interfere,” I pr
