The words settled over the clearing like smoke that refused to lift.
“They are already past the inner line.”
Mira felt the bond react before her mind fully processed the report. It tightened sharply, not toward the southern ridge or the granary, but toward the western housing quarters.
Ryker moved first. “Contain them,” he ordered. “No killing unless necessary. I want captives.”
His voice carried across the clearing with full Alpha authority. Warriors shifted instantly, splitting into coordinated units. The siege that had felt external now felt intimate.
Nightshade wolves were inside Silverfang territory. Mira’s pulse quickened, but not from fear alone. The bond flared again, and this time the pull felt unmistakably familiar. Not Alex, or an unknown scout, but someone else. She closed
