[ETHAN]The patrol route felt too familiar.I'd walked this section of the eastern perimeter twelve times in the last two weeks—same trees, same markers, same predictable loop that brought us back to the starting position every ninety minutes.Riley and Garrett flanked me, both scanning the tree line with practiced vigilance that had become routine instead of instinctive."Getting really tired of these extended rotations," Riley muttered. "Alpha's paranoia is making everyone twitchy.""Not paranoia if there's an actual threat," I countered, though privately I agreed. The pack felt stretched thin lately—too many patrols, too many restrictions, too much tension bleeding through pack bonds.Kael's command had turned rigid. Everyone felt it.Didn't mean he was wrong, though. Just—heavy-handed."Still," Garrett added. "We're so predictable now I could run this route blindfolded. Same paths, same timing, same checkpoints."That bothered me more than it should've.Predictable meant safe. Als
最終更新日 : 2026-02-06 続きを読む