The rumor did not arrive like a storm. It arrived like mist quiet, shapeless, slipping between conversations and settling into corners where truth rarely survives. By late afternoon, Ayla could feel it moving through Shadowpine like a living thing. Warriors who once ignored her now looked twice. She-wolves who had never spoken her name before suddenly fell silent when she passed. No one confronted her directly. That would have required courage. Instead, they watched.Selene Frostfang stood near the water well at the center of the pack grounds, her posture relaxed, her expression carefully sympathetic. She never raised her voice. She