The moment of control did not last as long as Elara needed it to, for the night itself seemed to fracture with a presence that did not belong to wolves, did not belong to the rhythm of their fight, and the air shifted again, colder, heavier, carrying something ancient that pressed against the senses like a warning too late to heed.
A shadow moved.
Not from the light.
But through it.
Cassian Virelli stepped onto the balcony as though he had always been there, his posture relaxed, his expression calm, though the stillness around him carried something unnatural, something that made even the night hesitate.
"She belongs to us now."
His voice was soft.
Measured.
Yet it cut through everything.
Elara's grip on Sarah tightened instinctively, her body reacting before thought could form, her gaze snapping toward him as her chest rose sharply, as something deeper within her responded to the shift.
