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The first patrol found the tracks at dawn.
They were too clean, too deliberate. No wolf scent, no human scent — just a thin trail of scorched earth winding through the trees like the brush of a coal-dipped quill. When the guards followed it back to the stronghold, they found the first sigil burned into the outer wall: a circle of ash, etched deep as if the fire had eaten stone.
The Hollow Court had been there. Close. Watching.
By mid-morning, the stronghold buzzed like a hive under attack. Wolves bristled at every corner, arguments broke out between guards, and whispers of betrayal spread like wildfire.
Kael summoned the entire pack to the courtyard.
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Aria stood to the side, Mira just behind her, as Kael strode to the center. His presence alone was enough to silence hundreds
