Chapter 53 Fifty Three

• ARIEL’S POV
• The whispers were louder today. I felt them before I heard them. The way my wolf’s ears twitched inside me told me enough. Eyes cut toward me, then away fast, heads bent together while they murmured, all of it laced in that same heavy curiosity that always followed me since I came back. This wasn’t new, but it didn’t sit easier just because I’d grown used to it. I walked through it like I always did—head high, back straight, pretending it didn’t get to me.!
• Then Sarah caught my wrist before I could even sit, dragging me behind her hastily.