**Lyra's Point of View

There was no celebration. The memory of it hung in the pack house like a bad smell, like a sweet smell over a sore that was getting worse. Aiden was gone, but his words had taken root and grown into a tangle of unasked questions and cautious looks. The pack didn't turn against us because they were so devoted to Kael, the Steward, that it was in the air they breathed. But the blind faith was gone, and in its place was a watchful, unsure curiosity. They didn't just see ...