The silence after the elder’s voice did not fade, it tightened and it held.
“Challenge recognized.” The elder announced.
The words sat in the air like something physical and I felt every wolf in the clearing lock onto me at once. Not curious and not supportive. Just watching to see if I understood what I had just stepped into. Which I did.
That didn’t mean I was ready. I didn’t get time to decide anything else. Ezra was in front of me before the moment could settle. Close enough that I felt the heat of him and the bond snapped tight under my skin and his hand closed around my arm hard enough to stop me from taking another step forward even though I had not been planning to move.
“You just made this worse.” He said.
His voice was low and controlled and it cut straight through the space
