Leo’s POV

The first time I feel her again, I almost miss it. It isn’t loud, or a flare of power, or a rush of bond-magic snapping back into place. It’s a shift. A subtle tightening low in my chest, like something that has been pulled tight for months, has suddenly loosened.

She’s crossed the boundary into pack territory. I don’t move from my task; I can’t. I lift the axe in my hand and then bring it down against the log beneath it. The sound cracks through the evening air. We have ...