The first shift happens exactly where we planned it, and for a second everything feels controlled in a way that almost makes it seem easy, and the line bends where it is supposed to bend and the pressure builds exactly where we made it look weakest.
Wolves move through the structure without hesitation, and the pattern we built holds steady under the weight of the first push, and every movement looks like something Christopher has already seen and already believes he understands.
That is the point. We let him think he is right.
I stand just behind the front line with the air tight in my lungs and the bond stretched low under my skin, and I watch the field instead of the wolves closest to me because this is not about what is happening in front of me and it is about what is about to happen
