Kian's POV
A week passed in a blur while the pack moved through the rituals; banners were lowered, mourners came, and men built the bier. They prepared Father’s burial, but none of it reached me. I felt empty, like the world had lost its color.
Rafel found me near the yard where they stacked weapons. He looked worse than the returned but steady where I was not.
“How did you say it happened again?” I asked.
He ran a hand over his face and stared at the ground. “They brought a vampire,” he said quietly. “A woman. She tore through our lines. We lost many men.”
“A vampire?” The word felt wrong in my mouth. “Why would they send one to fight wolves?”
Rafel’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know. But she was terrifying. When Alpha Dravon saw the losses, he went after her himself.”
My fists closed.
