Caelan POV
The challenge doesn’t arrive through official channels this time. Instead it comes as a pressure along the edges of what’s mine. One that is subtle, deliberate, testing rather than striking. Not enough to trip alarms, not enough to warrant immediate escalation, but intentional enough that Vaelor lifts his head inside me and listens.
It’s not council, it’s pack.
I’m in the courtyard when it reaches me, early afternoon sun warming the stone beneath my boots while the steady rhythm of pack life continues around us. Wolves cross the grounds in easy patterns, voices low, movement purposeful but calm. Our ordinary.
Elara stands a few paces away with Rhydan, speaking quietly, her posture relaxed but her awareness extended in that new way she’s learned since the bond formed, as if s
