heart skipped a beat as h

uttered, bli

ardened instantly. "Don'

o Omega was ever summoned alone by Caden. It never happened. The few stories she had heard w

her head and followed the guard out of the garden, leaving the loose weeds a

t going t

She simply followed, counting her steps as she always did when she was frightened. It

dn't work

reason Caden might want to see her, an

ish

he had done anyth

er prayer to the Moon Goddess. I

till ached

out a word. The dump was full of broken tools, rusty scraps, and weeds growing thro

turned, looking at nothing in particular. The late-afternoon light fell across his shoul

ground before she consc

whispered. "Whatever I di

so loudly that she cou

ch somehow made it worse. He pulled her effortlessly to her feet. The ease

her eye

could feel the heat coming from his body and smell the pine scent mixed with the cold air clingi

as he

rise and fall of his chest. He studied her with an expression she

rn eighteen?" h

so off guard that she

e days," sh

flashed in his eyes, as if he were keeping the answ

ld around her was wrapped in silence. The weeds moved softly in the breeze, and

her back against the cold stone, sitting th

he want

ork. She couldn't push it away. It followed her t

g chores. It wasn't strictly allowed, but with the Head Omega busy and the s

ey had stolen from the kitchen. Lina had wrapped them carefully in cloth and hidden them in her slee

he deep blue of dusk spread across

is it?" S

g the sky with the steady foc

smile. Her face lit up as she giggled. "Wh

thought settled strangely in her chest. It wasn't sadness, exactly. Ju

her with her shoulde

moon instead, full and pale, hanging above the pack house. I

oon Goddess really

d her, sayi

wolf. No family. Nothing at all. I thought I was just patient, waiting for change. Bu

the pain had disappeared, but because it had become a permanent part

ed her rice ball

said. "Honestly. I wouldn'

e wore when she was trying to hold back tears, refusin

d, trying to give Stella something to h

hed Stell

e up before the

died her f

romi

quickly looking away a

ing," Stella sa

h dignity. "I mostly

ded. For a moment, the pain in her back and the

smi

red. Stella could breathe without thinking about what hurt. But then Lina

ld go,"

ushed the crumbs from their laps, and

ny other day. The sun rose into the sky. Order

ands busy. Her body worked almost on its own while her mind wan

, a thought cr

my bi

st a faint awareness, a reminder that the day had a

g changed. At first, the scent was so faint she almost missed it. It drifted through the mor

ed without

ls she was so often denied. This was different. Warmer. Alive in a way she

cket to the ground an

f the compound, where the dark, thick woods began bey

g in her told her to keep work

what she

ep within her, steady and impossible to ignore. It felt like hunger, like a longing she couldn't explain.

is

r felt anyth

up her mind, her feet moved

ano

tter, and the sounds she knew were replaced by the stillness of

ser. Almost electric. It spread through her chest and rose into

ought, So this was what it felt like. To be

, a feeling so unusual that she didn't kno

ent va

ple

woods were strange

as when sh