Training doesn’t start with power.
It starts with silence.
The witches choose a clearing far from the packhouse this time—deep enough in the forest that even wolf patrol routes don’t naturally cross it. The air feels different here. Older. Less touched by conflict.
Samantha notices it immediately.
So does Jack.
He doesn’t like it.
That much is obvious in the way he scans the trees before they even fully arrive.
Lauren is already there.
Waiting.
Patient.
Like she’s been expecting them all along.
“You came,” she says simply.
Jack doesn’t answer. He positions himself slightly behind Samantha—not in a way that blocks her, but in a way that says very clearly: anything happens, I’m ending it.
Lauren acknowledges it with a glance, then focuses on Samantha.
“That’s progress,” she add
