Amara wasn't naïve.
She didn't expect hugs from a pack of territorial wolves who'd rather chew her out than let her in.
But this?
It felt different.
It wasn't just about the glares or stares. It was the silence. The way conversations stopped when she walked by.
The tension was thick enough to choke on.
And Lucian? He had vanished for most of the day, locked in some closed-door meeting with the council. No one told her where to go, what to do.
So she wandered.
And what she saw unsettled her more than the cold stares.
She walked passed two younger wolves training in a field. One of them stopped mid-fight when he spotted her, eyes flashing.
She doesn't belong here, he said with a loud voice.
I heard she's the reason Lucian's distracted, the other replied. He hasn't been the same since the meeting.
They didn't even try to lower their voices.
Amara kept walking as she remembered Lucian's warning .
Inside the manor, She turned a corner and caught a glimpse of a nameplate: Theo Greystone. Beta.
She paused.
Something about the name tugged at her memory. One of the council members. Dark eyes. Stiff jaws. She recalled that he had looked at her like she was prey.
Her gut twisted.
Maybe she was being paranoid.
Or maybe her instincts were finally tuning in.
Because something told her the threat from outside wasn't nearly as urgent as the one right here.
That night, she found herself outside again, needing air.
A sound rustled in the bushes.
She turned.
She saw nothing.
Still, the feeling lingered.
She wasn't alone.
And someone wanted her to feel it.