The night had fully descended upon the pack grounds, wrapping the world in a quiet, solemn stillness. Jacob stood alone on the wide expanse of the veranda, his fingers lightly resting against the cold stone railing. Above him, the sky was a deep, velvet canvas dusted with a myriad of shimmering stars, their brilliant glitter framing the pale, luminous glow of the full moon.
A brisk, chilly breeze swept through the open air, carrying the crisp scent of pine and damp earth, yet it brought a strange sense of temporary calm to his weary bones.
For hours, Jacob had remained frozen in that exact spot, lost in the turbulent currents of his own thoughts. His mind reeled through the chaotic chain of events that had unfolded earlier that day, but no matter how much he tried to shift his focus, one specific image burned vividly behind his eyelids: the increasingly bizarre behavior of Gamma Nilo.
