Ryder arrived at noon.
He looked worse than Sera had ever seen him — dark circles under his eyes, his clothes rumpled and stained, the easy confidence he usually carried replaced by something sharp and watchful. He didn't wait for greetings.
"It's not just wolves."
Sera led him inside. Dax followed. Lumi was with Elara in the garden, planting the last of the seedlings — Sera had asked them to stay close today.
"What else?"
"People." Ryder sat heavily at the table. "Three villages on the edge of Shadow Fang territory. Empty. Not abandoned — *empty*. Furniture still in place. Food on the tables. Fires still burning in the hearths. But no people."
"Gone where?"
"That's the question." Ryder pulled a folded map from his coat. It was covered in markings — red and black ink, arrows and cir
