Naida and Modric returned from the mountain cabin just as dawn broke over Storm territory. The partial mark on her neck still throbbed under her collar, a constant reminder of the full moon night. She walked beside him in silence, body sore in the best and worst ways. The bond felt like a living chain now—pulling her closer even as doubt gnawed at her.
They had barely reached the pack house when chaos erupted.
A scout wolf came running, blood on his side. “Hunters! Elias Knight leading them. Dozens. They’re hitting the eastern border hard.”
Modric’s calm turned to steel. “Defend the pack. Get the pups to the safe caves.”
Naida’s stomach dropped. Her father. He knew.
Before she could speak, her father’s voice boomed through a speaker rigged on one of their trucks rolling toward the pac
