Chapter 22 — A Message Written in Death
The northern ridge was quiet now, but the silence wasn’t relief—it was the aftermath, heavy and suffocating. Smoke curled into the dark sky, carrying the sharp scent of charred fur and blood. Lyra pressed the baby closer, the tiny weight against her chest grounding her as the pack assessed the devastation.
Kael moved through the bodies like a storm contained, eyes sharp, every motion controlled but lethal. Wolves that survived the attack shuffled to his side, trembling but alive.
Then one of the scouts called out, voice barely above a whisper. “Luna… over here.”
Lyra and Kael rushed to the edge of the clearing. There, pinned to a tree with a silver dagger, was a corpse—one of their strongest patrol wolves. Its chest had been carved, the blood sti
