Instead, they use strategy, leveraging each other’s strengths to cover their weaknesses.
An older warrior with a prosthetic leg deflects an attack with precision, leaving an opening for a younger wolf to strike.
A female warrior with scars running down her arms moves slower than her opponent, but she uses it to her advantage. baiting him into overextending before delivering a devastating counterstrike.
It’s… brilliant.
I lean forward slightly, my arms resting on my knees as I watch them. This isn’t what I expected. This isn’t what anyone expected. Windhowl’s pack isn’t just surviving–they’re thriving. They’ve taken what others would see as weaknesses and turned them into strengths.
They’ve adapted.
I glance at Siena again. She’s watching her pack with an intensity that’s almost unnerving, her eyes sharp and focused. There’s pride in her gaze, but it’s not the arrogant, self–serving pride I’ve always associated with her.
It’s something quieter, something deeper. She looks at her pack like they’re more than just warriors. Like they’re family.
Had she always been like this? Had I just never noticed?
“Are you seriously watching this?” Lila snaps, her voice breaking through my thoughts. She leans closer to me, her nails digging into my arm. “Raiden, they’re pathetic. She’s pathetic.”
“They’re holding their own,” I say, my voice calm but firm.
She lets out a scoff, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms. “You can’t seriously be impressed by this. Look at them! They’re weak. They’re-”
“Enough,” I say, my tone sharper now. She falls silent, her lips pressing into a thin line. I don’t look at her. I can’t. Something about this moment feels… fragile, like it’ll shatter if I let her words distract me.
Ubid/bun, 20 Apr
Chapter 24
4.密62%
The demonstration ends, and the crowd erupts into applause. It’s hesitant at first, scattered and unsure, but it grows louder, more confident.
Windhowl’s pack stands in the center of the arena, their chests heaving with exertion, but their heads held high. They don’t smile, don’t celebrate. They just stand there, resolute like they’ve been doing this their entire lives–because they have.
The judge steps forward, his voice booming through the arena. “Windhowl’s team is victorious.
The applause swells, and I find myself clapping along with the others. My gaze shifts back to Siena. She’s walking toward her pack now, her movements purposeful but unhurried. They gather around her,
One of the older warriors, the man with the prosthetic leg, claps her on the shoulder. She smiles at him, a genuine smile that lights up her face in a way I’ve never seen before.
It’s disarming. Unsettling.
Lila mutters something under her breath, too low for me to catch, but I ignore her.
My attention is fixed on Siena, on the way her pack looks at her. There’s no fear in their eyes, no hesitation. They look at her like she’s their anchor, their foundation. Like they’d follow her anywhere.
My wolf growls softly, the sound vibrating in my chest. He doesn’t understand what’s happening any more than I do, but he feels it too–this shift, this… respect.
“The Luna was once your anchor Raidnen.”
I glance at Lila. Her expression is twisted with fury, her lips pulled back in a sneer. She looks at Siena and her pack like they’re dirt beneath her feet, like their victory means nothing. And for the first time, I feel a flicker of doubt. A crack in the foundation I’ve built around myself.
Have I been protecting the wrong person?
The thought is dangerous. Treacherous. But it’s there, lurking in the back of my mind, and no matter how hard I try to push it away, it won’t leave.
As Windhowl’s pack leaves the arena, their heads held high, I can’t shake the feeling that everything I thought I knew about Siena–about her pack, about her strength–has been wrong.
And that terrifies me.
