“Yeah. It seems to be.”
“You think it’s reacting to the scouts from the Pack Council getting too close?”
“I think it’s reacting to what’s coming,” I said honestly. “The Hollow’s not passive. It’s old. It remembers. And it’s not going to sit still while someone tries to take it.”
Diesel huffed. “Sounds like you.”
“The druid said it chose me for a reason.” I looked at my beta, feeling uncertain. “What do you think?”
“I think the Goddess kicked you down a mountain to become alpha here, and what’s hers is the lands.”
“You’re not helping,” I grumbled.
We reached the top of the ridge just as Killian stepped out from the trees with his patrol, his fur matted with blood that wasn’t his, eyes bright with adrenaline. He shifted the moment he saw us.
“Clear,” he reported, voice clipped. “They retreated east. Fast. Either regrouping or running for reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements,” Diesel grunted. “Always reinforcements.”
Killian nodded, jaw clenched. “They’re not fighting us yet. They’re measuring distance, response time, and strength. This was a probe.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I agree.”
Killian exhaled, shoulders dropping half an inch—not out of relief, but in grim acceptance of what was to come. “How far do you want patrols?”
“Full ring,” I said. “No breaks. No weak spots. Rotate in fours. No one goes alone.”
Both my betas nodded.
“And…dare I ask?” Killian asked quietly. “Still nothing?”
“No.”
A heavy silence settled in as the weight of too many unknowns stacked on top of each other.
Diesel cracked his neck. “We need him back. Not just because he’s a good fighter—because he’s the smartest among us. He notices things even the druid has to think about.”
Killian agreed. “He should’ve been here by now.”
I scanned the horizon—black trees, black sky, black mountains. But the wrongness sat like a bruise in the distance.
“He’s either trapped,” I said, “or someone doesn’t want him getting back to us.”
“Pack Council?” Killian asked.
“Or something worse.” I looked around as my pack healed any bruises or knocks they’d picked up from the skirmishes. “Nothing from Cale either,” I reminded them. “One is odd, but two? I don’t like it.”
We stood there—three wolves on the verge of war, with sweat and blood drying on our skin—and in the silence between breaths, the Hollow beat again.
My eyes narrowed as I tried to decipher the message. A warning? No. A promise? That didn’t feel right either. An answer?
Killian glanced at the ground. “It’s reacting to you,” he murmured. “More than before.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Which is good, because we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
Diesel cracked a grin. “Don’t worry, Alpha, you have us.”
I didn’t hide my groan. “Let’s get back,” I said, turningtoward the Hollow. “Check in with Rowen. Make sure the pack is standing and not too shaken.”
