An Alpha's Dilemma
The forest was quieter than usual at dawn, as if the world itself held its breath in anticipation. Frost clung to the undergrowth, catching the pale sunlight in ghostly glimmers as the search party made their way through the eastern ridge. Every sound seemed magnified—the crunch of boots, the soft rustle of cloaks, the distant call of a raven. Ava walked near the front, eyes half-lidded, sensing the ley lines that rippled faintly beneath the soil.