Aria....

The courtyard had been transformed into something for for a match.

Torches lined the high stone walls, their flames dancing in the crisp morning air, smoke curling up. Wolves stood everywhere—warriors, nobles, servants—watching in taut silence. The air vibrated with expectation, with judgment, with hunger for spectacle.

I saw the faces of my Stormfang pack members, they all looked at me with

__pity

I drew in a slow breath, trying to steady the pounding in my chest. ...