Crystal knew the moment it happened.
Not because she felt Ember die.
Not because she felt pain.
Because she felt… nothing.
Bree’s head snapped up first.
Where is she?
Crystal was mid-step in the training ring when the thread shifted — that faint, ever-present hum of Ember’s presence in the pack bond.
It didn’t snap.
It didn’t burn.
It just—
Faded.
Like someone walking out of signal range.
Crystal froze.
“Crystal?” Rowan asked from across the field.
She didn’t answer.
She reached.
Not physically.
But inward.
The way alphas do when checking pack stability.
She brushed Dustin’s signature. Aurora’s. Bane’s. Lizzy’s. Ryan’s. The younger wolves.
All steady.
Then she reached for Ember.
Static.
Her heart dropped into her stomach.
“Bree.”
The wolf was already pacing beneath
