Chapter 83. Whispers of the Rift

The world had shifted since Firegate fell. Even the wind felt different—too sharp, as though it was cutting through old patterns to make room for something new. The wolves in the compound walked quieter now, and when they looked at Aria, they no longer tried to hide the truth in their eyes.

It wasn’t hatred.

It wasn’t even fear.

It was expectation.

She had become something larger than the pack’s rules, larger than Cassandra’s visions. And that was dangerous, because wolves didn’t know how to look at someone and not see either a leader or an enemy.

Jules was the first to say it aloud.

“You’re not one of us anymore,” they murmured one evening, leaning on the railing of the northern watchtower. “You’re still Aria. But you’re… more.”

“Or less,” Aria said.

“No. Not less.”

They didn’t look at her when they added, “The rest of them are starting to wonder which side of the line you’ll stand on when it breaks.”

“What line?”

“T