“One image becomes two.”
Two become five.
Five become timing.
Then coincidence.
Then silence.
Then doubt.”
The follower shakes his head.
“They’re Alphas. They share her. They chose that arrangement.”
“Chosen structures still crack under emotional erosion,” I reply. “Especially when one party begins to believe they are surplus.”
He hesitates.
“You really think he’ll walk away.”
I step closer, lowering my voice.
“I think he will start pulling back.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is the first step to isolation.”
I look back toward the border, toward the invisible thread of power that pulses faintly through the land.
“And isolation,” I add softly, “is the true weakness of red wolves.”
The follower swallows.
“You’re sure this helps break the seal.”
“Yes.”
“How.”
I turn m
