Selena.
The cave was quiet later that evening, though the firelight flickered against the stone walls, casting uneven shadows along the rough surfaces. Kael, Edris, and Ronan were sitting close together, their heads inclined toward each other as if they had never left one another.
They spoke in low murmurs, plotting or teasing, but I could not tell. It did not matter. I had grown used to being on the outside.
I stayed on the edge of the cavern, letting them have their closeness, their easy camaraderie, pretending it did not sting.
Pretending that the hollow ache in my chest was something I could ignore. My hands pressed against my knees as I crouched slightly, my wolf Lyra shifting beneath my skin. I could feel her restlessness, the tension that mirrored my own.
I had tried to be strong all day. I had told myself it did not matter that they left me behind. That the bond had stretched and frayed. That this distance, no matter how deliberate it felt, was temporary.
