The eastern woods had been quiet for weeks. Too quiet. Wolves in the rogue camp moved with careful precision, alert to every shadow, every rustle of branches, every sound the wind carried. Yet nothing could have prepared them for the sudden eruption of violence that night.The howl that had shattered the ridge hours earlier had been a signal, a declaration of intent. By the time I arrived at the eastern lookout, snow falling thick and heavy, the first signs of movement were already visible, shadows slipping through the forest, cautious yet purposeful. Red Hollow scouts, moving in pairs and small groups, testing the boundaries, probing the defenses of our growing coalition.I crouched low behind a frost-covered boulder, Mira beside me, eyes narrowed against the darkness. Corvin had positioned himself on the ridge to the west, invisible to the scouts, ready to cut off any retreat. Tarek stood slightly back, coordinating movements, his hand on the hilt of his dagger, ready to issue comm
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