Chapter 27

The morning air was sharp and crisp, the kind that stung Althea’s lungs as she stepped outside the packhouse. She wanted to disappear into the open fields, to feel the wind against her skin and escape the suffocating weight that had settled over her since last night. She hadn’t slept. not after what happened with Kaden. The argument had replayed in her head on a loop, every word, every look, every emotion crashing into her like waves she couldn’t swim out of. But it wasn’t just the argument. Her wolf. Her wolf had growled. Not a whimper or a meek noise like she’d expected of herself, but a low, primal growl that had rumbled out of her chest as though it had been waiting all this time to surface. It had shocked her as much as it had Kaden. And now, she didn’t know what to do with the knowledge. The packhouse was buzzing with activity this morning, the warriors already gathered in the training yard, and a group of women stood near the garden, their voices carrying faintly through the coo