The forest swallowed us whole.
Silver ash dusted the ground like frost. It glittered faintly in the narrow beams of early morning light that filtered through the trees. Warriors stood in silence around the marked spot, their faces tight and pale. No one spoke. They did not have to. The silver ash said enough.
Another wolf taken.
Another one lost to whatever was stalking us.
I crouched beside the patch of ash and sifted my fingers through it. It was colder than snow, colder than ice, cold enough to sting. The chill crawled up my fingertips like something alive.
Nathan stepped up beside me. “Do you sense anything.”
I nodded, jaw clenched. “An echo. Like something ripped straight through this place.” The air felt torn. Wrong. As if the forest was trying to stitch itself back together af
