ASHER'S POV
It starts with a sound I haven't heard in months.
Three short whistles. One long. One soft, almost swallowed by the wind. It is the kind of code only the Blades use.
Only the ones who have bled together in the cold know it. And no one should be using it here. Not unless something has gone really wrong.
I am already moving before my mind catches up. I toss a nod at the recruit leading the patrol and break off toward the treeline. He doesn't ask questions. I trained him well enough to know when not to follow.
The forest is dark, but it isn't silent. There is a kind of tension in the air tonight. My wolf feels it too. He keeps pacing just under the surface, ears forward, alert. Something is off.
I slow my steps as I reach the edge of the old ravine trail, just
