Chapter 42. Possessed by the Wolf

The room was cloaked in shadows when Kaelen entered, the golden light from the hallway spilling across the stone just long enough to reveal the shape of her curled beneath the blankets. The door shut softly behind him. He didn’t call her name. Didn’t light the lantern. He didn’t need to. The weight in his chest had already told him something was wrong.

He had heard the maids whispering outside the council chamber—Mira hadn’t eaten, hadn’t spoken much, had returned early from a walk with Eleanor, claiming a headache. But Kaelen hadn’t trusted whispers. He needed to see her with his own eyes.

He toed off his boots quietly, his shoulders already aching from the day’s strain, and slipped beneath the blanket beside her. Her back was to him, her breath uneven and shallow. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her gently against his chest.

She stirred. Not a full waking—just a soft exhale, a twitch of fingers against his forearm. Then her eyes blinked open slowly, a