Beta Antonia found me three hours later, still at the border between the Alpha Tomas pack and the Ashwood pack.
I was still at the barn, coordinating patrols with Marc and River. The 48-hour clock was already ticking.
She didn't knock. Just walked in, and the look on her face stopped every conversation cold.
"We have a problem," she said.
Her voice was flat. Clinical.
"Livestock are dead near the eastern creek. Three patrol wolves are vomiting blood. Two children from the lower settlement are running fevers." She paused. "The water smells wrong."
Marc's hand stilled on the map.
River's jaw tightened.
"How many dead?" I asked.
Twelve head of cattle. Four goats. All within fifty yards of the creek."
Rose stirred, low and dangerous. Poison.
"Show me."
The ride to Eastern Creek fel
