Elijah Pov. “You mind tellin’ me what the hell is going on now?” Malika shot me a look from the other side of her father’s shoulders, but honestly, I was as freakin’ clueless as she was. I gave her a half-assed shrug, looking back at Morax. The dude was stopped dead in the center of the alley looking like someone slapped his mother. I could feel his aura spilling out, and it brought back memories of pain pretty damn quickly. I think it was safe to assume whoever he ran into wasn’t a buddy of ours. “I’m not sure, but stay here. I’ll get a closer look.” I promised, gently handing her father over to her the rest of the way. She heaved slightly under his weight, but once she was settled she gave me the go-ahead. I could see from where I was that there were people on the other side of the alley. There was a red-headed chick I’d never seen before and my comrades. But that wasn’t what had Morax’s attention. So I stepped closer, sniffing the air. I paused right when the city lights hit th

The tension in the clearing broke, and suddenly laughter seemed to rejoin the pack. It was odd, how easily Elijah drained the tense atmosphere, his bumbling even making the rouges slacken in their intensity. I noticed the fiery girl from before look at him, rolling her eyes before she smirked. After that, everything seemed to go off without a hitch. We gave them their housing, went over the rules, even though some were moved to separate settlements it ended as a standard procedure. It was like our village hadn't been torched, like packs weren't dying to protect the relics. For a moment, it felt...normal. Like my life had always been here. But I knew the minute the four of us were alone, that peace would shatter. If not by whatever they had to tell me, but by what I had to say. I watched impatiently as the crowd slowly dispersed, that weird fog churning in my chest again. It felt like a vice. Something I couldn't shake. What was it?Anxiety? Pain? Something else entirely…?"...Hm.