Jacob’s POV Dawn broke over the smoking ruins of our camp like a cruel joke. The first pale light touched the horizon, revealing the full extent of the damage. Tents lay in charred heaps. Barricades were splintered and scattered. The ground was soaked with blood—ours and the enemy’s—mixed with gray ash from the wolves the echo had burned. Bodies of fallen pack members were being carried to the mourning fire. The air smelled of smoke, blood, and defeat. I stood in the middle of it all, blade still in my hand, blood drying on my arms and ribs. My side throbbed from the wound I had taken destroying the hidden rift. My throat burned from Thorn’s grip. Every breath hurt, but I refused to let it show. The giant portal was closed. We had survived the night. But Thorn’s promised “true army” was coming, and the pack was barely holding together. My thoughts were grim and tactical. We had bought ourselves a few hours, but the pack was exhausted, wounded, and outnumbered. If we waited for T
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