Chapter 131
The moment Kael looked at her and truly saw her, the clearing shifted again.
It wasn't immediate or violent at first, but something in the pressure changed direction, pulling inward as if the space itself had turned toward that single point between them. The creatures reacted a second later, surging forward with renewed force as if trying to crush the moment before it could grow into something more.
Ryder moved to meet them without hesitation, his body slamming into one of the advancing forms as he forced it back. "Hold the line," he said, his voice strained but steady, and the pack adjusted around him, tightening their formation instead of breaking apart.
Mira stayed close, but her focus remained on Ariana and Kael. Her expression sharpened as she watched the shift in him, the subtle change that had nothing to do with the creatures pressing in. "That wasn't just reaction," she said quietly. "He's pushing back."
Ariana didn't turn.
