The whispers started at the border settlements.
A hunter swore he'd watched a pale wolf tear through a raiding party before disappearing into a blizzard. Three days later, trappers found bodies frozen solid near the northern passes. A week after that, a merchant arrived at a trading post talking about frost marks carved into trees, warnings to stay out of certain territories.
The stories spread like fire through dry grass.
By the time they reached the southern packs, the details had grown. The pale wolf became a woman who commanded winter itself. The frozen bodies became entire war parties wiped out in a single night. The frost marks became symbols of a new power rising in the wasteland.
They gave her a title. The Alpha Queen.
Reign heard the rumors from refugees she'd helped, from ro
