Night draped itself over Silver Crest, thick and heavy—mountains standing silent under a sky smothered with clouds. Distant patrol fires flickered along the borders, not just for comfort but warning. The whole territory felt on edge. Wolves stalked the land, tense and alert, their noses twitching with the scent of fear.
No one said it out loud. They didn’t have to. Everyone felt the change creeping in. Even the air wouldn’t settle. The moon, too—it looked colder lately.
Up in the Alpha mansion, Liana lingered by the eastern balcony, watching the forest lines below. A breeze worked itself through her hair, gentle but restless. The strange mark under her wrist glowed, pulsing in and out beneath the moon. It wouldn’t stop. Every night it grew warmer. Brighter. She could almost feel it getti
