The snow had stopped, leaving a thick, crystalline layer across the shattered battlefield. Smoke from the ruined constructs lingered in the trees, curling like restless spirits. Frost coated the edges of torn banners and shattered runes, glinting in the weak morning sun.
Zack’s POV
I surveyed the horizon from the ridge overlooking the forward base. Kieran had vanished with the last of his forces, but I could feel his energy lingering, like a predator watching from just out of sight. His traps had cost us lives tonight—three of our pack gone—but the pack had survived, and more than that, we had learned his methods.
I exhaled, fog spilling from my mouth in the cold, and shifted slightly, letting Zeus’s presence flow through me. Muscle and instinct tensed and relaxed in rhythm. Every nerve
