Ember had lived by instinct her entire life.
It guided her shifts, her reactions, the way her body knew when danger was near or when comfort was close. Wolves didn’t question instinct—they trusted it. It was older than thought, older than language.
Which was why the sensation coiling low in her chest unsettled her so deeply.
Something was… wrong.
She sat on the edge of her bed, elbows braced on her knees, moonlight spilling across the floor in pale silver ribbons. The full moon had already begun to wane, its peak power fading—but its echo still hummed through her blood.
Through the bond.
Ember closed her eyes and reached for it instinctively.
The connection to Maelis answered at once—warm, familiar, wrapped tight around her heart like a promise. It had become second nature frighteni
