The meeting in the village square lasted long after the sun disappeared.
Questions filled the air.
Suggestions.
Worries.
Arguments.
The hunters explained everything they had seen, the strange tracks, the missing livestock, the wolves lingering too close to Black Hollow's borders.
No one had answers.
Only theories.
"They're probably hungry."
"It's the changing season."
"Maybe another predator drove them out."
Ayla sat quietly near the back, listening.
She wanted to believe the explanations.
She really did.
But the uneasy feeling in her chest refused to fade.
Because predators didn't usually scratch at houses.
And they certainly didn't linger near villages.
Not unless something had changed.
Not unless something had forced them to.
By the time the meeting ended, the village
