The morning sun spilled over the Silver Crest pack’s grounds, flooding the stone buildings and fields with gold. Wolves moved through their routines—warriors heading out to patrol, breakfast chatter drifting from the halls, younger wolves sparring in the yard.
To an outsider, everything probably looked normal.
But Liana could feel the tension running under it all.
People whispered as she walked by. Quiet, but impossible to miss.
She heard them. Felt the weight of their stares. Even the air tasted different—uneasy, brittle.
Ever since the mating ceremony, everyone had kept an eye on her.
Some of them pitied her.
Some looked curious.
But some... they were afraid.
Liana kept her head down crossing the courtyard, trying to pretend she didn’t notice.
“That’s her.”
“The rejected mate.
