Aria POV

I stepped back through the gates of the pack, my heart was thundering so hard I thought the guards might hear it. The walk back from the clinic had felt endless. Every sound behind me had made me jump. Every pair of eyes in the market felt like they knew where I had gone and why.

I kept my scarf over my head as I hurried across the yard. The morning had brightened, and workers were moving about, carrying trays, folding laundry, scrubbing steps. I thought maybe I could slip in quietly and no one would notice. But then I froze.

Kael’s voice rang across the courtyard. Low,...