Chapter Ninety-Two: Shadows in the Pines

The forest was alive with whispers. Wind rattled through the high pines, carrying with it the sharp tang of resin and the musk of something feral. Mason moved carefully, boots crunching faintly on the frost-hardened ground, every sense tuned to the dark ahead. He had tracked men before, killers who thought the night would hide them, but this was different. This was not human prey.

Beside him, Captain Reyes’s breath clouded the cold air. “You’re sure about this?” Reyes murmured, one hand resting near the holster at his side.

Mason’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Evelyn is gone. The mayor was silent. And now the trail leading here, into the backcountry where cell towers didn’t reach and even hunters rarely ventured. “I saw the prints,” Mason said, crouching low. He brushed a gloved hand over the impression in the soil. The size alone was wrong, too broad for a man, too long for a wolf. “Whatever we’re dealing with, it came this way.”

Reyes shifted uneasily, scanning