The door to their shared room closed with a soft thud behind them, shutting out the echoes of the corridor and the faint imprint of Selena’s absent footsteps.
Ronan dropped his jacket near the bed, eyes narrowing. "We shouldn’t have left her alone," he muttered, low and sharp.
He ran a hand through his hair, jaw tightening as the words left him.
Edris leaned against the far wall, arms folded, expression calm but with a faint crease between his brows betraying concern. "It’s a council eting, not an execution," he said evenly. "She’ll handle it."
Kael, perched on the edge of the bed, didn’t look up. "Maybe," he said slowly. "But even so... council or not, she walks into a room full of elders and rumors. That’s not nothing."
Ronan’s hands curled into fists. "She’s too trusting. She shouldn’t have gone without one of us—any of us—by her side."
Edris shook his head. "You think she doesn’t know what she’s doing? Selena understands the stakes better than any of us. She doesn’t need a bodyguard to tell her that."
Kael finally lifted his gaze, dark eyes lingering on the floor as if replaying the mont in his mind. "It’s not about knowing. It’s about the... feeling. You know, that instinct that tells you sothing could go wrong even when reason says it won’t."
His fingers drumd lightly against the bedpost, as if testing the air for danger.
Ronan exhaled sharply. "Then why aren’t we doing sothing? Sitting here, hoping she cos back in one piece? That’s not enough."
Edris pushed off the wall, moving to the center of the room. "And what exactly would you do? Barge into the council chamber and announce we’re taking over because we’re worried? That’s the kind of disruption the elders would notice. Selena doesn’t need us to fight for her—she needs us to be patient."
Ronan’s shoulders stiffened, a muscle in his jaw twitching with frustration.
Ronan opened his mouth, then closed it. He knew Edris was right, even if it left a bitter taste in his chest.
Kael leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "She’s strong," he murmured. "Stronger than anyone gives her credit for."
Edris nodded, jaw tightening slightly. "And that strength is why we wait."
Ronan’s gaze lingered on the corridor outside, imagining her small, steady steps toward the council. Even with her strength, he couldn’t shake the worry twisting in his chest.
There was sothing about facing those elders alone... sothing that made the careful weight of her steps replay in his mind again and again.
He pressed his palms to the window fra, as if holding himself steady against the rising tide of worry.
A pause hung over them, heavier now as their concern shifted inward. Ronan was the first to voice the thought gnawing at him.
"She barely ate. I’m worried this might be bigger than we think."
"I’ve been thinking that too," Kael added thoughtfully. "Selena is strong. This sudden weakness doesn’t suit her."
Edris studied them, interest growing. "Could simply be exhaustion," he suggested. "Maybe she needs rest."
Ronan shook his head. "No. That wasn’t exhaustion."
Kael nodded. "I thought the sa."
Edris leaned forward slightly. "What did you notice?"
Kael crossed the room slowly, replaying her steps in his mind. "When we were walking toward the forest corridor, her steps changed. Not dramatically, but enough—she placed her weight carefully, like she was adjusting to protect sothing inside her."
Understanding flickered across Ronan’s face. "Yes. I noticed that too."
Edris tilted his head. "Careful how?"
Kael considered. "Like soone guarding an injury. Or protecting sothing fragile."
Ronan’s jaw tightened. "That would explain how she held her side when we stopped."
Edris’s gaze shifted between them. "You’re describing the sa movent."
The room fell quiet, each considering the possibilities.
Finally, Ronan spoke the thought forming in the back of his mind. "There’s another explanation."
Edris raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
"She could be... pregnant."
The words hung in the air, heavier than any shadow in the room.
Edris blinked, then let out a short laugh.
"No?" Ronan pressed.
Edris shook his head. "If Selena were carrying a child, we would know."
Kael’s gaze flicked to him. "How?"
"A wolf carrying a child rarely behaves normally for long. Her instincts shift imdiately—protectiveness, heightened awareness, scent changes. Even how she moves near us would be different."
Kael nodded faintly. "That makes sense. A pregnant wolf guards what she carries instinctively."
Edris continued, "She would also react to our presence—defensively, possessively. None of that has happened."
Ronan frowned. "She was restless this morning."
"Yes," Edris said. "But not protective."
Kael spoke after a mont. "Then... sothing is affecting her wolf."
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he tried to trace what could unsettle her instincts.
Ronan’s head snapped up. "What do you an?"
"I don’t know yet," Kael admitted. "But whatever it is, it’s suppressing her."
"That would be difficult," Ronan said darkly.
"Not impossible," Edris added slowly.
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
"Who would dare try that?" Ronan asked finally.
Edris t his gaze. "Too many possible answers."
Kael’s voice remained calm. "Then we find the right one."
"How?" Ronan asked.
Kael glanced toward the door. "We watch her."
Edris gave a faint smile. "We already do."
"Closer," Kael said. "Especially when we run later. No distance. No mont for vulnerability."
Edris exhaled. "She may not appreciate that level of attention."
"She doesn’t need to," Kael said.
Ronan stepped away from the window. "She needs to be safe."
His hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles white with tension.
That was the one point none of them questioned. Selena had been taken once—they would not allow it again.
Edris leaned forward. "There’s also the healer."
Ronan frowned. "You think she should see one?"
"I think we ask questions first," Edris replied.
Kael shook his head. "Not yet. If sothing’s wrong, we understand it before anyone else does."
Edris studied him. "You suspect soone in the pack might be involved."
Kael’s eyes hardened slightly. "I’m worried about everyone."
Ronan exhaled slowly. "That includes Silas."
The three of them fell silent, each lost in thought.
Ronan’s gaze drifted to the corridor that led to the council chamber. "She looked tired," he murmured.
Edris softened. "She looked strong."
"She always does," Ronan said.
Kael’s voice was quiet. "That doesn’t an she should have to."
He ran a hand along the back of his neck, a small sigh escaping him as if the weight of worry pressed down physically.
And so they waited. Three wolves, their attention fixed on one woman—not out of duty, not obligation, but because concern had grown into sothing far deeper. Sothing closer to obsession.
A faint sound reached them from the corridor.
The quiet scrape of footsteps.
Ronan’s head lifted first.
"Did you hear that?"
Kael was already turning toward the door.
Before anyone could move further, a soft knock sounded against the wood.
It wasn’t the firm knock Selena usually used.
It was lighter. Slower.
Ronan crossed the room in two quick strides and opened the door.
Selena stood there.
For a mont none of them spoke.
Her posture was straight as always, but the color had drained from her face. Her breathing seed shallow, and one hand rested faintly against the wall beside her as if she had needed the support.
Ronan’s stomach dropped.
"Selena?"
Her gaze lifted to him, unfocused for a brief mont before clearing.
"I’m fine," she said quietly.
But the words ca slower than usual.
Edris and Kael were already moving toward her.
"You don’t look fine," Edris said.
Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her stance. "You’ve been pushing yourself too hard."
Selena tried to straighten further, as though determined to dismiss their concern.
"I only needed a mont of air," she murmured.
She took one step into the room.
Then another.
Halfway across the threshold, her balance wavered.
Ronan reacted instantly.
"Selena—"
Her hand lifted slightly, as if she ant to steady herself.
Instead, her knees gave way.
Her body folded before she could catch herself.
Kael lunged forward at the sa mont Ronan did.
Ronan caught her shoulders just as she began to fall, pulling her against him.
"Selena!"
Her head tipped back slightly, her weight suddenly heavy in his arms.
Edris was beside them in an instant, one hand already pressing lightly against her neck to feel her pulse.
"It’s there," he said quickly.
But his voice had lost its calm.
Kael crouched beside them, his jaw tightening as he studied her pale face.
"This isn’t exhaustion."
Ronan’s grip tightened protectively around her.
"Then what is it?"
Edris didn’t answer imdiately.
His eyes lifted slowly to et his brothers’.
And for the first ti since they had entered the room, real unease settled across his expression.
"I don’t know," he said quietly.
"But sothing is very wrong."
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