Klaus’s POV
The news hit us like a thunderclap in the dead of night. Nirma—gone. Slipped right through our grasp. Orion had been the first to hear it, his usually calm face twisting into raw panic. I didn’t even have to say a word before we were already moving, tossing aside the remnants of camp and grabbing only what we needed. There was no waiting for dawn. No chance to rest aching muscles. The mountain was no longer a place to linger—it had become a trap waiting to collapse around us.
I’ve faced storms, battles, and ambushes in my years as Alpha of the Onyx Pack, but that descent was something different. The mountain seemed to turn against us with every step we took, as though it too had sworn loyalty to the hunters. Loose stones skittered beneath boots, the once-familiar paths of our
