***Sawyer***
The first alarm came from the east wall.
Not a howl. Not a shout.
Three knocks against the iron bell mounted beside the watchtower, followed by two more.
A breach.
I woke before the final note faded.
For one disoriented second, I was back in Rainah’s ravine, lying beneath the open sky with snow gathering on my coat and the sound of wolves breathing around me. Then the bell rang again, closer this time, and the old instincts returned with brutal clarity.
Shademoon.
I rolled from the narrow bed in the guardhouse and reached for the rifle propped against the wall. My shoulder throbbed where the Bloodmoon scout had torn through it, but the wound had closed enough to move. Not enough to fight well. Enough to be useful.
Outside, the pack house came alive.
Doors opened. Fee
