Chapter 84

Netya recognized the young hunter as Rolan, a man whose coming of age celebration she remembered from the previous year. He had a habit of tailing Vaya wherever she went, and so Netya had rarely taken the time to speak with him.

She rose to her feet when she saw he was bleeding from several scratches across his face, wondering whether he needed aid, but Adel stopped her with a hand around her wrist. The den mother’s grasp was uncomfortably tight, and a moment later, Netya realized why.

The wolf draped over Rolan’s shoulder was the same scrawny female they had run into earlier that day. It should not have bothered her to see the animal dead, especially not after having been willing to fight it herself just a few hours prior. But, after the way Adel had deftly handled the beast without a drop of blood needing to be spilled, she could not help but feel a lump come to her throat.

“I am sure he had a good reason,” she began as the den mother rose to her feet, cold eyes