The battle had turned beautifully chaotic. Fire roared through Silver Hollow’s main district, the smoke curling like black banners above rooftops. Screams, metal, and snapping jaws blended into a single, glorious symphony of ruin.
From the ridge, I watched the lines bend and break, the defenders scattered like ants trying to drag their queen to safety. It was going exactly as planned—until one of my men came tearing through the smoke, panting, eyes wild.
“Commander!” he shouted over the noise. “You’ll want to see this. There’s… there’s a wolf—no, the wolf!”
I frowned. “Speak sense.”
“She shifted right before my eyes,” he said, breath ragged. “Close to the east quarter—near the riverside homes. I saw her. The Luna... Alpha Jason’s Luna, I swear it.”
A dozen possible explanations spun t
