Chapter 153

Kara POV

The air smelled different here. Clean, cold, touched by the faint smell of pine and the faintest hint of smoke from some distant fire. I’d been in enough packs to know when I didn’t belong — the way eyes followed me, the way murmurs hushed when I passed. But this… this was different. They weren’t watching me like an intruder. They were watching me like they didn’t understand why I was at his side.

Elijah walked ahead, shoulders straight, movements sharp. I’d seen him fight once — quick, and lethal. But now I saw something else. The wolves around us stepped aside as he passed, heads lowering, eyes dropping.

Why hadn’t I noticed before?

“Elijah,” I said, my voice low. He didn’t stop, but his ear twitched — he was listening.

“You said you were just a patroller.”