The Moonshadow pack had never been so quiet.

The training grounds, once alive with the thunder of paws and the crack of sparring blows, now sat hushed. Wolves moved in small clusters, speaking only in low murmurs before scattering like leaves caught in a shifting wind. Even the omegas, who usually filled the halls with chatter, spoke with wary glances, their voices clipped short when Bella passed by.

It wasn’t peace. It was silence. And silence, Bella realized, was heavier than war.

She ...