I hurried toward the tree line with Kade close beside me, my heart pounding despite my still recovering strength, bracing myself for another confrontation with Voss warriors or worse, Damon's scattered loyalists finally making their move.
Instead, the banner leading the approaching riders bore a crest I recognized from Kade's own childhood stories, a silver wolf howling beneath crossed swords, the official seal of the full pack council itself.
"Council riders," Kade said, visible relief loosening the tension in his shoulders. "Not an attack, then."
The lead rider dismounted quickly once they reached us, an older wolf I vaguely recognized from the trial that had stripped Damon of his authority months earlier. His expression carried the particular weariness of someone who had travelled ha
