The snow on the frontier fell thicker than anywhere else.
Not the kind that invited play or joy—but a quiet, weighty snow that buried everything in silence.
Kael rode through the storm with his hood drawn low. Behind him, two sleds carried supplies: blankets, grain, medicine. The settlements scattered along the Frostveil Pass had seen nothing from the capital in years.
Now, they had him.
And he didn't wear armor anymore.
Only leather and linen. A crimson scarf an old villager had knit for him when he cleared a bandit den last month.
He was no longer Prince Kael.
Just Kael.
“Alpha!" a young girl called as he dismounted near a half-buried lodge. “They found another den of sick wolves in the east caves!"
Kael nodded. “Boil snow for water. I'll bring the herbs."
The girl grinned and
