The question settled into the space between all three of them like a stone dropped into still water, the ripples immediate and impossible to ignore.
For a fraction of a second, no one moved. There was nothing overtly wrong with what he asked, nothing rude on the surface, yet it brushed dangerously close to lines that were never meant to be crossed.
An awkwardness settled between them, heavy and unspoken, because their world was layered with truths that could not be handed to outsiders.
Pack activities were not stories to share casually, not secrets to spill over coffee or laughter. They were boundaries carved in stone.
"Family," Seraphine answered, keeping her tone neutral, offering nothing more.
Leon felt Corvine's gaze land on him with a weight that was anything but neutral. It was intense, assessing, protective in a way that made his instincts sharpen.
The warning did not need to be spoken, yet it echoed clearly in the tension between them. "Bring her back in one piece, or…"
