's

was a promise. Blackridge never wasted words. Never issued idle warnings. Their presence me

cles coiled, every eye fixed on the doorway. The air was thick, ta

like a heartbeat I could feel in my chest. I had seen her walk this land as a girl, frightened and cautious

Evelyn," I said, my voice low, trying to keep t

tle defiant. "I-I didn't mean to, Leo," she w

her will, restrained Blackridge wolves before they even reached the border. That

. "You didn't have to mean it," I said, steady. "The f

y. And neither would Blackridge if th

as flint. "Alpha Leo," he said, voice sharp, "if she cannot master this... this

des. "I understand. And I will make sure s

ty flashing across her fac

our courage. I've seen you face fear and walk straight into

the way she had always carried the weight of responsibility on her ow

't disappear a

e, measured. My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I shif

as shadows. Not retrea

th precision, the kind that comes fro

stinctively. "Leave," I said. My voic

d, voice calm, almost polite. "We are not here to fight... yet. But know this. Silverpi

us, but the bond I had yet to fully acknowledge between Ev

e. "Before this territory become

"We will s

hifted, moving like wind through the

und mine, fingers brushing against mine in a brief, fragile connection.

not alone in this," I wh

or didn't leave her body. "

calm. "And it's okay. Fear doesn't

n us, suspicion mixing with a grudging recognition. "You inten

ut hesitation. "Before

ainst mine, the faint tremor of the forest under our feet. I didn't

compound. I sensed every glance, every whisper, every unspoken doubt

ed at her hair, carrying the scent of pine and earth. I paus

tating, breat

almost a growl. "And I will not let anyone, not council,

quick and uneven, and I knew it mirrored my own. This was no longer about str

istant howl, carried on the wind. My b

ckr

moving," I mutter

my arm. "What-

her lips. "You stay close. We

aw something deeper-a spark. The forest's pulse thrum

hest. "Evelyn, everything is about to chan

lently. The forest seemed to lean toward u

the Greenwood Sanctum, that the battle had already beg

in mine. "I... I'll

n't enough anymore. You have to rise

ath our feet, respondi

asn't just a girl I had once known. She was something

with her through w

one thing for certain: the forest had chosen her, yes-but

us would come