I looked back at Isla.
She was watching me closely now. Not just reacting. Watching.
“You felt that,” I said quietly.
Her head tilted.
“Yes,” I said. “I tried to reach you.”
She took one step closer.
Curious.
Good.
“It didn’t work,” I said. “Not because you can’t. Because you’re not fully… aligned yet.”
The word felt wrong, but close enough.
Sera nodded behind me. “Her mind and wolf aren’t fully synced. She’ll hear instinct first. Link comes after.”
Isla made a low sound in her chest.
Frustration.
I almost smiled.
“You don’t like that,” I said.
Her ears flattened briefly.
No, she didn’t.
“Good,” I said quietly. “That means you understand what you should have.”
Her gaze sharpened.
There it was again. That same look she always had. The one that refused to accept limits pla
