We sent the riders at dawn, and within a week the answer came back, and it was exactly what I'd known it would be and dreaded anyway.
Some packs heeded the warning. Some rode home.
The Duskwater pack was the first to go. Their Alpha was a practical wolf named Hesk, and he came to the hall to say it to Cain's face, which I respected even as it hurt. "You warn us of a rogue king in the eastern dark," he said. "Maybe it's true. But my lands are three days west, my people are untended, and I've bled enough at another pack's walls this season. If the dark comes, it comes to Crescent Hollow first. You'll have warning. We'll ride back if the threat proves real." He inclined his head, not unkindly. "I'm not your enemy, true king. I'm just a tired Alpha with his own pack to think of. That's not b
