(Ava’s POV)
The forest was quieter than it should have been.
Branches rustled only when we moved, and even then, the noise was quickly swallowed by the thick silence pressing in on all sides. The full moon had not yet risen, so we relied on our wolves’ instincts, on memory, and on adrenaline.
I crouched behind a thicket of pine, scanning the outskirts of the rogue encampment we had tracked through the old maps. It was just as the reports described—tents ringed around a central fire pit, with two watch guards pacing lazily near the edge. Too lazy. Too quiet. I felt it in my gut—the calm before a storm that had already begun to circle.
“This doesn’t feel right,” whispered Eli, beside me, his voice tight.
“I know,” I murmured. “But we need confirmation.”
Emily crouched on my other side,
