*The Broken Stone* The battlefield was quiet by morning. Smoke curled from shattered banners, broken weapons, and blackened earth. Wolves moved slowly, not as warriors now, but as mourners. They carried the fallen with reverent hands, laying them in neat rows along the edges of the clearing. Crystal stood at the center, her body trembling, her eyes locked on the place where Evren had vanished. The faint shimmer of silver light still lingered there, like starlight refusing to fade. Her throat ached terribly. Ryder’s arm tightened around her waist. He had cleaned the worst of his wound, though his ribs were still bound in bloodstained linen. His voice was low, roughened with grief. “He held the gate when none of us could. He saved us.” Crystal swallowed hard, tears blurring her vision. “He was meant to be the guardian all along.” Nearby, Shadow Pack wolves knelt. Alpha Darius stood at their head, shoulders bowed, his face carved with grief deeper than words. He had lost not o
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