As Darius, Elaine, and Nathan leave—no doubt heading toward the cabin where Roselyn now stayed—the silence that fell over the Silverblade Pack House was heavier than any storm. The last fading hum of the engine dissolved into the distance, swallowed by the trees. What lingered behind was a silence filled with ghosts—the kind that pressed on the chest, thick and suffocating.
The late afternoon light dimmed, shadows stretching long across the courtyard. A breeze stirred the fallen leaves, their rustling whisper the only sound left in the wake of Elaine’s return.
Michael stood motionless at the top of the stone steps, staring after the disappearing car as though sheer will alone could bring it back. His hands were clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles turned bone-white, veins s
