Chapter : 6.

The battle had ended abruptly, the rogue wolves retreating as if some invisible force had pulled them away. The air was still thick with tension, and Elara’s heart pounded in her chest. The confusion and unease swirling in her mind were nearly overwhelming. She had seen the wolf that looked exactly like Luka, fought alongside warriors who had no explanation for why the rogues had vanished, and witnessed Luka himself staring after the mysterious wolf with an expression she had never seen on him before.

But it wasn’t Luka. She knew it wasn’t. And yet, the wolf’s scent, his appearance, the pull of the mate bond—it had all been so disturbingly similar to her mate. Too similar to be a coincidence.

As the pack slowly began to regroup, warriors tending to the wounded and trying to make sense of what had just happened, Elara stood apart from the others. Her mind was consumed by thoughts of the rogue wolf that had looked like Luka. He hadn’t attacked her—hadn’t even shown aggression. Instead,