Marina woke to Sera's screaming.

Not hunger she'd learned that cry within days. This was rage, pure and undiluted, the furious protest of an infant who'd inherited her father's temperament and her mother's stubbornness.

"She's fine," Ash said from the corner where she was changing Luna's wrappings. The silver-shadow pup lay quiet and watchful, her violet eyes Marina's eyes,tracking every movement with unnerving intelligence. "Just angry that I moved her favorite blanket."

Marina struggled to sit up, her body still aching two weeks after the birth despite Obsidian's healing magic. She reached for Sera, and the red-brown pup immediately quieted, nuzzling against her mother's chest with possessive determination.

"She knows...