Victory didn’t taste like victory. It lingered in the air like smoke after a fire, heavy and uncertain, clinging to every surface without warmth. The courtyard was quiet. Too quiet. Wolves stood where the battle had left them, breathing hard, bloodied, eyes scanning the tree line as if expecting the shadows to rise again at any moment. But they didn’t. Not yet. Aria stood in the center, her body still humming faintly with the remnants of her power. The light had faded, but it hadn’t disappeared. It rested beneath her skin now, like a steady heartbeat waiting to be called again. Damien’s arm remained firmly around her. Not restricting. Anchoring. “You did it,” he said quietly. Aria shook her head slightly. “No.” Her gaze lifted toward the forest. “They let us.” That shifted something. Damien felt it too. This wasn’t over. It had never been over. --- “Roll call,” Jay’s voice cut through the silence. Practical. Grounding. Wolves began respon
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