(Caius)
Ashcrest watched her differently now.
I noticed it the moment we stepped further across the grounds. Wolves who had once ignored her entirely now reacted before she even reached them. Heads lowered. Bodies shifted aside. Conversations stopped halfway through and didn’t begin again until we passed.
She noticed every part of it.
I could see it in the way her eyes moved across the territory, catching reactions most people would’ve missed completely. Years of surviving this place had taught her to watch everything around her before it had the chance to turn against her. That instinct hadn’t left her simply because the balance of power had changed.
We walked beside each other without rushing.
I didn’t move ahead of her and I didn’t guide her path. This wasn’t a moment where she ne
