POV: APHRODITE
Three days after I woke from collapse, my body has recovered enough that I can focus on something beyond just surviving. Food is more plentiful now thanks to coordinated hunting and foraging. The tension in camp has eased slightly. Lyra stays close, no longer trying to leave.
And I'm ready to tackle the bond.
I remember the grimoire from the temple. The ritual that was supposed to sever pack bonds permanently. It didn't work the way I intended, awakening my wolf instead of freeing me, but the book contained other information too. Meditation techniques. Ways to sense and manipulate the bonds that connect wolves to each other and to the Moon.
I never got to fully explore those sections. Never had time before we fled.
But I remember enough to try.
I announce my intentions over breakfast. "I'm going to meditate today. Practice controlling the bonds."
The twins both tense immediately. Through our connection, I feel their alarm spike.
