The walk back to White Wolf territory should have felt reassuring, but it didn't.
The familiar paths winding through the eastern forest remained unchanged. Pack scent still lingered heavily along patrol routes. Trees I had passed hundreds of times stood exactly where they always had, their roots pushing through damp earth while rain continued falling softly through the canopy overhead.
Nothing about the territory itself had changed, only our understanding of it. And that was the problem. The stranger had not crossed into our territory by accident.
The more distance we put between ourselves and that clearing, the more certain I became of it. Whoever they were had wanted to be seen. They wanted us to notice and start asking questions.
They were playing a game, and I hated games, especia
