The words hung in the hall like smoke after a fire. No one cheered. The beta who'd spoken looked at the floor, jaw tight. A few others shifted their weight, eyes sliding away from me. The crack I'd felt in the bond was spreading through the pack now, quiet and ugly.
Darius's hand stayed heavy on my shoulder. Kane stood like stone on my right, knife still half-drawn. Rylan's axe rested on his shoulder, but his grin was gone. The bond pushed their rage and fear straight into my chest, mixed with something sharper: the need to protect the small life kicking in my belly.
