The night was eerily still, the calm before the inevitable storm. The air in Ashen Hollow felt thick, charged with an almost electric tension. Even the leyline beneath the town seemed to hum with anticipation, its energy crackling through the ground like an unstable heartbeat. Lena could feel it in her bones, a primal sense of dread creeping into every corner of her mind. Something was coming.
No—Kane was coming.
Lena stood with Rylan at the edge of the town, her eyes scanning the darkened forest in front of them. The shadows seemed to shift and breathe, like a living thing waiting to strike. Around them, members of the Nightclaw Pack stood tense, ready for battle. The wolves had gathered quietly but efficiently, each one prepared to fight for Ashen Hollow, for the leyline, and for their
