The river was empty.
Rowan knew it the instant Asher crested the ridge.
No bodies. No blood. No lingering fear-scent clinging to the stones or the waterlogged earth. The air was wrong—too clean, too still, like a battlefield scrubbed bare before anyone arrived.
Asher skidded to a halt, claws gouging frozen ground as the rest of the warriors fanned out behind him.
Nothing.
A low, vicious snarl ripped from Asher’s chest.
Trap.
Rowan’s heart slammed against his ribs as the realization detonated through him with brutal clarity. The mindlink flared, raw panic punching through discipline.
Serena.
There was a beat of static.
Then—
Alpha—packhouse breached.
The words barely finished forming before Rowan turned.
He didn’t order it. Didn’t need to.
Asher exploded forward, tearing back
