The first sign that something was wrong was the silence.
Not the peaceful kind that settles over a pack after battle. Not the quiet of snowfall or dawn.
This was the silence of prey realizing the predator had returned.
Nightfall Pack the strongest territory in the north had not howled in three days.
No patrol calls.
No training clashes.
No laughter from the younger wolves.
Even the forest had gone still, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.
Because their king had come home.
And no one knew what he was anymore.
Ivy stood at the balcony of the Alpha House, her hands gripping the cold stone railing so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
Below her, the courtyard was filled with wolves in human form warriors, elders, mothers clutching children close.
All of the
