Chapter 46

The whispers had grown louder, no longer confined to the shadows. As I walked through the heart of the compound, the tension pressed against my skin like a storm building on the horizon. Wolves who had once greeted me with confidence now avoided my gaze, their conversations halting as I passed. Others didn’t even bother to conceal their unease, their eyes lingering on me with thinly veiled doubt.

They were talking about him. About Dante. And, by extension, about me.

The unease gnawed at me, each hushed exchange a splinter driving itself deeper under my skin. Dante’s return had shifted something fundamental, unraveling the unity I had fought so hard to build. Every step I took through the compound felt heavier, the weight of the pack’s fractured trust threatening to break me before the coming battle even began.

As I neared the sparring grounds, raised voices caught my attention. A small crowd of wolves had gathered, their postures tense. I quickened my pace, catching snippets of the argument as I approached.

“You think he cares about the pack?” growled Ren, a seasoned warrior who had always been fiercely loyal to me.

“He left us, and now he’s back like nothing happened. How can we trust him?”

Lyle, one of the younger wolves who had grown close to Dante since his return, stepped forward, his ears pinned back.