Cael stood at the edge of the training field; the sun had long since risen, casting a golden sheen over the pack lands, but he didn't feel its warmth. His entire focus was on how shallow his breaths were and how heavy his limbs were just after a few hours of exercise. Sweat dampened his collar despite the mild breeze, and he had to clench his fists just to keep from swaying.
Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.
He had trained harder than usual this week to drown out the hollow, eerie silence in his mind. His wolf had not communicated with him for several days now. Normally, his wolf side communicated his excitement, suspicion, or anger through growls, rumbles, or restlessness with clarity. But now, all that was left was its instinct. Even when he tried to reach out to it, it was like speaking into a void. No response. No flicker of awareness. Just... absence.
