Chapter 243

**Leo’s POV **

The first time I feel her again, I almost miss it. It isnt loud, or a flare of power, or a rush of bond-magic snapping back into place. It’s a shift. A subtle tightening low in my chest, like something that has been pulled tight for months, has suddenly loosened.

+25 Points

She’s crossed the boundary into pack territory. I don’t move from my task; I can’t. I lift the axe in my hand and then bring it down against the log beneath it. The sound cracks through the evening air. We have enough firewood; I know that, but this is something I can do, something that keeps me semi-focussed and drowns out my wolf’s restlessness.

Jake pauses in the doorway of the cabin. I don’t have to look at him to know he felt it too.

“She’s here,” he says quietly; it’s not a question.

I drive the axe down again.