They had three days before the armies arrived.
Three days to turn thirty-five hundred wolves into something that could survive against seven thousand.
Reign gathered her forces in the main courtyard at dawn. They looked at her with mixed expressions. Fear. Hope. Determination. Most had never fought in a real war. They were rogues, exiles, survivors. Not soldiers.
"You're wondering if we can win," she said, voice carrying across the assembled wolves. "The answer is yes. But not by fighting their way."
She gestured to the frozen landscape surrounding the fortress. "This is our territory. Our element. The Fire Prince brings heat. The Shadow Alpha brings darkness. But we are winter itself. And winter doesn't fight fair."
A few wolves laughed nervously.
"We're going to use every advantage
