Peace had never felt so fragile.

After the ritual, the pack had returned to Shadowfang territory carrying both victory and exhaustion. The skies above the fortress were clear, the forests still. The bond was broken, Kael was gone, and for the first time in moons, Selene and Darius could breathe without the weight of an unseen hand pulling at their souls.

Yet peace had its own kind of silence, one that made the air too heavy, too calm, as if the world itself was waiting for something to ...