The ride back from IronClaw was quiet.
Aria sat tall on her mare, the wind tugging at her silver cloak, but her mind was elsewhere—on the burned pendant, on the missing Luna, and on the way Alpha Duren had looked at her in the end: not as a stranger, but as a beacon.
She had earned the trust of another pack.
But that small victory came with a shadow.
Because the more she thought about the pendant, the more certain she became—it wasn’t just an attack. It was a message.
By the time she returned to the estate, the sun was setting behind the mountains, casting the land in gold.
Axel was already waiting for her at the gates, his arms crossed—but his eyes soft with worry.
“You’re safe,” he said as she dismounted, pulling her into a fierce hug.
Aria melted into him for a moment, then pull
