Erick
The scent of ink, aged parchment, and burning sage filled my study as I read through the reports before me. Paper after paper, the scent of war and unrest stained every word.
Rogue sightings near the outer borders. Whispers of rebel encampments. Even mentions of young wolves vanishing from villages, wolves with no allegiance, no pack. Those were the ones the rogues loved to prey upon.
My jaw clenched as I read, eyes scanning each line with focused precision. These wolves were recruiting now, forming something more dangerous than a band of scattered criminals. They were trying to build an army.
And that army, I feared, would be aimed directly at my throne.
My fingers tightened around the quill in my hand, the veins in my arms taut as I made notes in the margins. No one would eve
