rom the scrying pool, showing Kael's frantic Beta, Roric, revealed he was less

"He will hunt you by scent, instinct, and fear. His Alpha ordered hi

n hand pulse rapidly-a signal of a wolf

his and inhale deeply. It will lock your core magic down, hiding the da

not violently but as a subtle distortion of reality. I needed to convince Roric's keen sen

pearing act I still hadn't mastered. I stood alone a

ess than

e raised, and his nostrils twitched as he sampled the air. He was a skilled hunter-relentless and foc

ed. I simply

Roric took a careful step closer, his focus intense. His eyes passed over the moss-covered log where I was hidden. He caught my o

lfsbane should have hit his senses hard. But Roric only recoiled slig

rated growl. "She'

e came, his massive shou

urged him. You can

a command he hated. He was a good wolf, forced to hunt his Alpha's mate. I could have let him go, but th

ady to change back to his human form

didn't aim for Roric. Instead, I targeted a massive ancient pin

ap

e the sap boil and turned the needles a vibrant, toxic black. The scent that filled the air w

s clothes tearing as he drew a heavy hunting knife. He

but he had witnessed the proof of my power. He realized that Elara didn't

of me, but of the unt

spered, a sound filled with de

toward the border, a broken tracker whose worst

r was exhilarating, but the emotional toll of frightening Roric was heavy. My reve

from the roots as if the

rns with fear, not failure. Kael will learn of a 'Wolfsbane Rogue' with untraceab

craved control. The pain in my chest had become a sharp, unyielding resolve. The crisis Kael faced-the sp

ng to my feet. "The Alpha needs

Your scent is locked. Your purpose is set. But your return cannot be rushed. You

ing the route in my mind. "I will become a traveling, unaffiliated master healer. I will buil

s no longer about survival. It was about conquest. I would not sneak back into the Lunar Pac