Chapter 169

The forest swallowed Selena without resistance.

No thunder followed her steps. No omen marked her leaving. Just the soft crunch of earth beneath her boots and the slow closing of branches behind her, as if the world itself refused to remember her shape for too long.

At the boundary, the night settled fully.

Caleb turned back toward the pack, but Kaia remained still, her gaze lingering on the darkness where Selena had disappeared.

“You don’t regret it,” Caleb said quietly. ...