(Ava’s POV)
The moment we crossed the Shadow Claw borders, I felt it—the shift. The tension in the air wasn’t from the wind or the returning warriors. It was deeper, heavier. The kind that settled beneath your skin and refused to leave.
The territory looked the same, but it didn’t feel the same. Eyes followed us as we walked through the gates, but they didn’t carry pride or relief. They carried suspicion. Whispers clung to the air like fog—half-formed rumors that scratched at my spine. They knew. Or at least, they thought they did.
Word had spread faster than we had traveled.
I didn’t have to guess what the rumors were about. I’d seen the glances between Dominic and me during the wedding. I’d felt Logan’s cold shoulder and heard Caleb’s poison-tipped words ringing in my head. The facti
