جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 119

POV: DARIUS“Again!”My voice cracks across the training field and the younger wolves snap back into position.“Shift faster,” I bark. “If you hesitate, you’re dead. Do you understand?”“Yes, Alpha!” they shout back.One of them stumbles mid shift and I grab him by the shoulder before he hits the dirt.“Focus,” I say, low. “You don’t get a second try in a real fight.”He nods, embarrassed.I step back, chest heaving, sweat sliding down my spine. The air smells like grass and heat and nerves.“Pair up,” I order. “Controlled spar. No ego.”They move.I’m halfway through correcting a stance when Derek jogs toward me from the main path.He doesn’t look panicked.He looks… careful.“What?” I ask before he even speaks.“More wolves from Emano just arrived,” he says quietly.My jaw tightens. “Is that a problem?”“They asked for Elara.”Something in my chest shifts at her name. It always does.“Is she with them?”“Yes.”I nod once. “Fine.”Derek hesitates.“There’s something else.”I look at

POV: VAREKThe glow burns so bright it throws light on all of their faces, and I see it.I see everything.I’m standing near the edge of the living room, back against the wall, arms crossed, and I don’t move. I don’t blink. I just watch.Arin’s hand is lit up like a damn signal flare, and Darius is still kneeling in front of him, fingers wrapped around the boy’s smaller hand like he’s scared to let go.Elara steps closer without thinking. Of course she does. She always moves toward him. Even when she swears she won’t.“Arin,” she says, her voice tight. “Baby, look at me. Does it hurt?”He shakes his head fast. “No. It’s just loud.”“Loud how?” Kael asks.“In here.” Arin taps his chest. “Like something’s knocking.”Darius’ jaw tightens. I see it from here. That small flex near his ear.“What’s knocking?” he asks gently.Arin looks up at him, and for a second they just stare at each other. Same eyes. Same stubborn set to their mouth.“I don’t know,” Arin says. “But it’s not from here.”

POV: KAELI feel it the second he drops into sleep.Like the room goes quiet but not all the way.Darius is on the bed across from me. Shirt off. Chest rising slow. Normal. Too normal. Elara finally got him to rest. She is in the chair near the window, arms crossed, watching him like if she blinks he might disappear.I close my eyes.And there it is.A pulse.Not loud. Not strong. Just this… tick. Deep under his skin. Not in his heart. Not in his wolf.In the space between.I inhale slow and press my fingers to his temple.Elara looks at me fast. “What?”“Shh,” I whisper. “I need quiet.”She doesn’t like that. I can feel it. She stands anyway. Walks closer. “Is he okay?”“I don’t know yet.”I let my magic slip out slow. Not a blast. Not a wave. Just thin. Careful. Like threading a needle.The air shifts.Darius doesn’t wake but his jaw tightens.There. Again.That pulse.I push a little deeper.And it pushes back.Not hard. Not violent.Familiar.My stomach twists.“Oh no,” I breathe.

POV: DARIUSThe alarm hits before the sun does and I am awake before the second flare even burns out.The sound isn’t a siren. It’s the low howl from the east tower and then the pulse on my phone right after. Border breach. North line. Hunting ground three. North Ridge wolves.I sit up already knowing who it is.“Elara,” I say, and she’s awake instantly. She had decided to sleep in my room from now on. Just sleep. So that we can get used to each other again“What happened?”“North Ridge.”Her jaw tightens. “Already?”I nod and I am already pulling on jeans. “They didn’t even wait a week.”She stands too. “You expected this.”“Yes.”Outside the window the sky is still dark blue. Pre-dawn. The time cowards like.My phone buzzes again. Derek.I answer on speaker. “Talk.”“They crossed the markers at three,” he says fast. “Six wolves seen. They planted their scent over ours and took two deer.”I huff a short breath. “Bold.”“They’re waiting for a reaction.”“Of course they are.”Elara cro