Chapter 38 Absolute Codependence

• Raya’s POV
• The path north led us swiftly out of the lowlands and into the spine of the continent—the high, unforgiving mountains that marked the ancient boundaries of the Lycan territories. The terrain was brutal, a sheer climb over shale and rock, made treacherous by the lingering moisture from the recent storms. It was here, divorced from the mundane earth of the Packs, that our dynamic shifted entirely.
• Kaelen’s physical strength, the sheer muscle and endurance of a lifelong warrior, was the only thing preventing a catastrophic collapse. He could not access the superhuman resilience of his Lycan wolf, but his human conditioning was absolute. He moved with the practiced economy of someone who had long relied on his body as a weapon, identifying footholds and testing unstable rock faces with an instinctive knowledge that surpassed mere sight. He led the traverse, his pace slow, careful, and utterly relentless.