A week and a half after that start date, trainees gathered for the initial session on monitoring bonds.
Out of the blue, a group came together - twenty wolves gathered from every corner of the land. Not just one kind of territory shaped them; each brought rhythms from their own packs. Some had lived many winters, others just a few. Half were male, half weren't. Leadership wasn't the only story - one pair stood apart: Omegas, quiet but sharp when bonds shifted.
Each carried a quiet awareness deep in their bones. It wasn't the vast hum of the Quintessence - no sweeping connection to every thread. Yet inside their lands, among their kin, they were the ones who caught unease long before voices rose. A shift in silence meant more than words. When pairings wavered or loyalty thinned, they noticed first. Something stirred beneath the surface - and they felt its pull.
