Caelan POV:
The pack settles slowly after Sonia is gone. Wolves drift toward their routines without needing to be told. Patrol groups reform along the edges of the courtyard with quiet nods replacing the tension that had hung there moments earlier. Laughter begins again in small threads, tentative at first before easing into something warmer.
Order here rarely needs to be forced, it simply resumes.
I remain near the center of the courtyard beside Kieran, both of us watching the shift happen in the way only wolves who have led long enough truly notice. His arms are folded loosely across his chest, posture relaxed enough that anyone passing might assume the moment has already passed for him, but his eyes are still scanning the perimeter with the habitual awareness of someone who never tru
