The moon sat low over the pack house, veiled in a haze of thin clouds. From her window, Bella could hear the restless stirrings of wolves in the courtyard below. Even hours after Roland’s storming return, the whispers hadn’t quieted. They spread through the halls like wildfire: He’s back. He spoke to her. He knows her secret.

Bella wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders, but it wasn’t the chill of night that made her tremble. It was Roland’s voice still echoing in her ...