ASHER'S POV
The air is off.
Right from the minute we step past the first perimeter line, I know something is wrong. The trees are too still. The air is weirdly warm even though it's supposed to be cool this far into the ridge. No birds. No scent trails. Just... empty.
I keep my expression calm. Neutral. I don't want to raise alarm too early, but I stay in the front and listen harder. Every step we take, my instincts are just screaming louder and louder.
I glance behind me. The recruits are spread out like I told them to be. Spaced. Alert. Quiet. Harper—Hunter—is sticking close to the right flank. He moves like she is listening to something I can't hear, scanning the treeline like it is whispering secrets.
I know that look.
She feels it too.
"Are you setting me up for
