Damon isn’t just watching anymore. He’s engaging. And that means this is about to stop being a waiting game. Good. I’ve had enough of those.
“Come on, Damon,” I mutter. “Stop hiding behind your pack.”
As if summoned by the thought, a deeper scent cuts through the others. Stronger. Sharper.
Predatory. My head lifts slightly. There. Not close. But present. Damon isn’t leading from the front. He’s watching. Waiting. Good.
I straighten, rolling my shoulders once before stepping back from the tree line. If Damon wants a drawn-out approach, he’s not going to get it. I key into the patrol channel.
“All units, hold positions and maintain defensive lines. Do not pursue beyond designated boundaries.”
Confirmations come back immediately. Then I switch to a private channel.
“Conrad.”
“I’m here.”
“This ends before they reach the center,” I say. “I’m not letting it get that far.”
A brief pause.
“I figured.”
I keep my gaze on the forest.
“They want territory,” I say. “They’re not getting it.”
“Then end it.”
I nod once, even though he can’t see it.
“I will.”
I lower the radio and take one last look at the defensive lines stretching around Redwood Crossing. Strong. Organized. Ready. But this isn’t a fight that will be won by holding ground alone. It needs to be finished. And I know exactly who that means facing.
I turn toward the forest, every instinct in me sharpening toward a single objective.
Damon.
“Stay away from the town center,” I murmur.
Not a hope. A promise. Then I step into the trees, disappearing into the shadows as the first true movements of battle begin to stir around Redwood Crossing.
33
TESSA
Istay in the bookstore because that’s where I’m most useful. Not out on the perimeter where Archer and the others are holding the lines. Not in the forest where whatever is coming is starting to take shape. Here. At the center. At the point everything feeds through.
The radio hums constantly now, no longer a background detail but a lifeline. My phone rests in one hand, notebook open on the counter in front of me, lines of names, locations, and routes filling the pages faster than I can process them.
“North ridge holding,” someone reports.
“East road clear for now.”
“South perimeter has movement but no engagement.”
I log each update, rerouting information as quickly as it comes in.
