(Caius)
Isla stayed quiet beside me after that.
Not distant.
Not closed off.
She was thinking, and I could see it in the way her attention moved across Ashcrest now. The territory no longer looked at her the same way, and part of her was still adjusting to what that meant.
We continued down the main path together.
Royal guards remained stationed across the grounds while Ashcrest wolves moved carefully around them. Two guards stood near the western entrance checking movement between the lower grounds and the pack house while another group rotated near the holding wing beneath the eastern corridor.
Nobody ignored the guards.
That alone told the pack enough.
Ashcrest no longer belonged to itself.
A few wolves stopped talking when Isla passed them near the training yard. One lowered
