The river bend smelled like wet stone and old iron.
Lyra felt it the moment she stepped onto the narrow strip of ground between water and trees. The current moved fast here, dark and restless, slicing around the bend like it was trying to escape its own path. Mist clung low to the surface, curling around boots and ankles, hiding what waited beneath.
A killing place.
Tyler knew it. She could feel his awareness through the bond, tight and controlled, his attention spread wide as the pack took position behind them. Wolves moved silently into the trees, half-shifted, ready. No one spoke. No one needed to.
Ronan Crowe stepped out of the forest alone.
He was taller than Lyra expected. Broader. His presence didn’t slam the air the way Tyler’s did. It crept instead, slick and invasive, like o
