Stevie
The forest holds its breath tonight.
Even the wind seems afraid to stir the leaves as I crouch low in the underbrush, every muscle taut with focus. My heartbeat feels too loud, a wild drum echoing inside my chest. I press a gloved hand against the damp earth, drawing in the scent of pine, moss… and faintly, the invisible border that marks Blue Rock territory.
It feels wrong to cross it.
Allies or not, this is still another Alpha’s land.
But Alpha Keith’s command rings in my mind — calm, clipped, unyielding. “Go see for yourself, Stevie. Find out what we’ve missed.”
So I go. Because when your Alpha gives you your first mission — your first real chance to prove you belong — you don’t question it.
I wait for the patrol to pass. Two silhouettes move through the trees ahead, their
