The forest never truly slept, not when wolves moved in patterns, not when predators weighed possibilities behind every shadow. I stood near the edge of the northern ridge, the snow crunching softly beneath my boots, each flake settling onto my cloak as if marking the passage of time in quiet witness. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless, muscles taut with awareness. The bond throbbed faintly, a distant echo of Kael’s presence somewhere beyond the ridge, a subtle pull that both unnerved and steadied me.
I exhaled slowly, letting the cold air fill my lungs, crystallizing the resolve I had clung to since Red Hollow’s Alpha, Lucian, had departed with his warning and his offer. Patience. Observation. Calculated movement. These had become my weapons, as much as any blade or fang. And yet,
