The autumn came golden and slow.The leaves turned, painting the forest in shades of red and orange and deep, burning gold. The air grew crisp, carrying the scent of woodsmoke and apples and the distant promise of winter. The pack gathered the harvest, stored the grain, prepared for the cold that would come. The fields were stripped, the cellars filled, the walls reinforced. There was work to be done, but there was also time. Time to sit by the fire. Time to tell stories. Time to be together.I spent my mornings in the nursery, watching Kaelen grow. He was a year old now, his grey eyes bright, his laughter loud. He walked on two legs and ran on four. He was a child of the pack, loved by all, protected by all. He followed his fathers everywhere, learning, watching, growing.Cassian taught him to fight. He would take him to the training yard, show him how to hold a wooden sword, how to stand, how to strike. His patience was endless, his voice steady. He was the father he had never had.
Mehr lesen