ROWANThe warning came through the ground before it came through sound.Ash surged to the surface, hackles rising, awareness snapping outward in sharp, instinctive lines.‘Border breach,’ he said. ‘East. Fast.’I was already moving.The shift tore through me without ceremony. Bone, muscle, heat. Human thought narrowed into something sharper and older as fur replaced skin and my weight slammed back into the earth on four powerful limbs.Around me, Emberfall responded.Not panic.Precision.Wolves shifted mid-stride, bodies expanding and grounding as they hit the open paths. Patrol horns sounded once, twice, the low call rippling outward like a pulse. This wasn’t a skirmish. This was a push.We met them at the tree line.Three wolves broke through first, dark-coated and lean, moving too aggressively to be scouting. Rogues. Not starving. Testing.Ash snarled deep in my chest.‘They’re probing,’ he said. ‘Seeing if we hesitate.’‘We won’t,’ I replied.I hit the lead wolf head-on, momentum
Last Updated : 2026-01-31 Read more