The night air was sharp enough to sting my lungs.
Snow crunched quietly beneath my boots as I slipped between the trees, hood pulled low, breath steady, wolf pulsing under my skin like a drumbeat. The border lights glowed faintly through the branches, marking the edge of our territory like a thin glowing line. The moment I stepped over it, everything would change.
My wolf urged me forward, restless, fierce, whispering that the rogues were close. That she could sense them. That they were calling for us. That something inside me needed to meet that call.
I ignored the cold crawling up my neck. I ignored the small voice telling me I was being reckless. I ignored everything except the pull in my ribs, the heat under my skin, the instinct screaming that staying away was wrong.
I reached the
