Chapter 178

The sound didn’t come a third time.

That was worse.

The forest settled into an unnatural stillness, the kind that pressed against the ears until even breathing felt loud. Birds were gone. Wind had stilled. Even the pack grounds behind them seemed to hold back, as if the land itself had stepped out of the way.

Caleb felt it in his bones—every Alpha instinct screaming that something had crossed a line that could not be uncrossed.

Kaia’s hand tightened in his.

“It’s not ...