Chapter 39

Aria's POV

We move back to Shadow Peak two days later. The fortress looks the same but feels different. Empty. Haunted by all the people who died defending it.

"We'll rebuild," Drogo says as we ride through the gates. "Make it stronger than before."

People start unpacking. Getting settled back into their rooms. Trying to pretend things are normal.

But nothing is normal.

The fifteen former Eastern Pack warriors are put to work immediately. Repairing walls. Reinforcing gates. Building new defenses.

Owen, the young one I talked to, works harder than anyone. He's always the first one up and the last one to sleep.

"He's trying too hard,"...