The forest changed the moment we crossed beyond Redpaw’s border.
Not visibly.
Not in a way most wolves would notice.
But I felt it—the absence of territory.
No Alpha.
No claim.
Just open land.
Unwatched.
Unprotected.
Or maybe… uncontrolled.
I adjusted the straps of my pack and kept pace beside Kael, my eyes scanning the trees ahead. Ronan followed a few steps behind, his posture loose—but there was nothing relaxed about the way his gaze moved.
The forest stretched endlessly in every direction, growing thicker the deeper we went. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in broken streaks, never fully reaching the ground. The air felt cooler here, heavier, carrying the scent of damp earth and old pine.
And beneath it—
Something faint.
Something I couldn’t quite place.
We’re expose
