*Starblood Borderlands – Dawn*The smell of smoke reached Crystal before the first scream.Ryder’s patrol was supposed to be routine—a sunrise sweep along the northern ridge, just inside Starblood’s border. But as the wind shifted, the acrid tang of burning wood and fur carried blood with it.Ryder’s wolf, Aiden, went rigid inside him. Too close, Aiden snarled. They dared.Crystal didn’t wait for orders. Aelira surged forward within her, claws raking at the edges of her control. The flame inside her had been restless for days, as if it sensed the coming storm. Now it roared awake, and hungry.They reached the ridge, and the land below them was on fire.The village, a simple cluster of cottages and trading posts nestled between the trees, was being consumed. Roofs collapsed inward, sparks leaping toward the treetops. Wolves scattered in every direction… mothers clutching pups, elders coughing through the smoke. And beyond the flames, half-shrouded in morning mist, Silver Fang banners r
Last Updated : 2025-09-14 Read more