It was the day before and it felt wrong from the get-go. Even the air felt heavier, thicker — as if the forest itself was holding its breath. Clouds intercepted the sun and concealed its light, and all this region sat under a curious silver fog. Rain and the smoke of the pack’s early training fires scents mingled on the breeze. Everyone was moving with quiet determination, as if we all knew something was coming but nobody wanted to say anything aloud. Another thought like that and you’ll find yourself on the other side of the training field in affairs. Jax and I stood along the edge of the training field, observing as the warriors drilled again and again. Joseph had said: Stay sharp, stay alert. Scouts moved in and out, offering brief reports — no additional sign of Crescent Vale, no new s
