Chapter 22: Blood Ties

Elara’s POV

The comfortable atmosphere that had settled between Vander and me during dinner instantly evaporated. I shifted uncomfortably, my damp hair dripping onto the borrowed clothes that hung loosely from my frame.

"I..." I began, but Vander stepped forward, his voice calm yet authoritative.

"Elara shifted today," he explained, moving to stand slightly between us. "Her first transformation. S