Page 9 of Salt Between the Wolves
“They’re afraid,” Kael said evenly. “Fear makes people search for patterns.”
“And sometimes patterns matter.”
Soren turned fully then, and the conversation stopped almost immediately.
No accusation sat openly on any face, yet he could see the tension anyway — not distrust exactly, but observation sharpened by uncertainty. They were watching him more carefully now, measuring reactions and silences with a focus that would have gone unnoticed a month ago.
That alone was dangerous.
“The western ridge crossings were disturbed three nights ago,” Soren said, redirecting the conversation cleanly. “Frostvein scouts are pushing farther than before.”
Riven leaned slightly forward in the saddle beside him. “Then we should move the lower patrol route east before the storm closes the pass.”
It was a reasonable suggestion. Soren answered too sharply anyway.
“And abandon the trade path entirely?”
The silence afterward settled immediately.
Riven blinked once, visibly caught off guard. “I meant temporarily.”
“I heard what you meant.”
The words landed harder than intended, sharp enough that even the horses seemed to still for a moment beneath the tension that followed.
Kael’s attention shifted toward Soren almost imperceptibly.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Riven looked away first, jaw tightening briefly before he smoothed the reaction into something neutral again. “The ridge is unstable today,” he said after a moment. “We all missed signs earlier.”
The attempt to ease the tension only sharpened Soren’s awareness of it. Because Riven was covering for him.
Soren turned back toward the tracks before anyone could study his expression too closely.
The irritation beneath his skin no longer felt clean. Over the past weeks it had become tangled with something far more invasive, something impossible to fully separate from the bond itself. He had spent years training instinct into discipline, shaping reaction into control so thoroughly that the line between them had nearly disappeared.
Now even small things were beginning to slip through.
A laugh overheard across a courtyard.
A subtle shift in Eira’s breathing whenever he entered a room.
The memory of her standing too close beside another wolf.
None of it should have occupied space in his mind while tracking Frostvein movement across the northern ridge. Yet it remained there anyway.
Kael approached quietly once the others drifted back toward the horses.
“You’re distracted.”
The observation carried no accusation. That somehow made it worse.
Soren kept his gaze fixed on the valley below. “Weakened supply lines tend to create complications.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
Wind moved heavily between them for a moment before Kael folded his arms loosely across his chest.
