olf took a

her against the damp earth behind the fallen log. He did not move. He barely breathed. His body was

aiting. Their eyes reflected the grey morning light in a way that made Elara's skin prickle. The

ice was ba

you run north.

the sma

tain it saw them. Then a branch cracked somewhere to the east-small, accidental, maybe a deer-and all three wol

did no

Deeper into the denser trees, where the ground was softer and their footprints would be harder to track.

sharp complaint. Rowan finally stopped beside a narrow stream that cut

th

call of birds that had st

lothes hung on her, damp at the hems from the undergrowth. Her palm-the one that had

lanced

all r

es

ine. The torn bond still throbbed like a bruise that refused to fade. And un

k, then gestured for her to do the same.

er a moment. "Wrong scent. Wrong size. Someone

ing f

tely. He wiped his hands

n. Some people collect the discarded. Some people hu

, filtering through the canopy in thin gold shafts. It

. Elara watched his back-the way he carried tension in his shoulders, the quiet readiness in every step. He had not asked for

ath. Kael. Somewhere behind them, the Alpha must have felt the distance and the f

her sternum until th

back once, bu

water ran over flat stones and crossed first, testing the depth. Elara followed. The cold water soaked thr

g until dark. There's an old mining tra

e did not complain. Complaining had never

wal

e rocks or low branches with a small gesture. Elara learned the rhythm of his pace and matc

rrow trail of broken stone climbed upward-the old mining p

ight. Harder for anything to come

d time Rowan reached back without looking and steadied her elbow until she found he

e wind. Rowan dropped the small pack and began clearing a space for a fire that would stay low and

alm i

perfect. No mark. No proof. Only the memor

from the small fi

re qu

lways

r than

ed at the

ast night... I

went

er eyes on

idn't tell you because I thought... I don't know what I th

ched. The fir

carefully,

broken skin. His thumb brushed once across the place the cut had been. The tou

lease

," he said. "Curses

what i

ood is doing things it shouldn't, we treat it like a secret that can get you killed. You

swal

rig

fire. The light caught the scar through h

ou can," he said. "I

under her was cold even through the fabric. The torn bond ached in time wi

losed h

low breathing of the man who had decided she was worth pulling out of the dirt. She thou

three wolves had moved, as

y took her i

s hand on her shou

out. The sky

a whisper ag

ser this time. And