POV: Alpha Jackson Reynolds
The transition from the fortified warmth of the Royal Palace to the jagged, unforgiving edges of the Iron-Mist Valley felt like stepping from a dream into a nightmare. We had taken the southern secret tunnels, a series of ancient, basalt-lined passages that spit us out miles away from the main gates.
The moon was a sliver of bone in the sky, barely illuminating the dense, rolling fog that gave the valley its name. This wasn't ordinary mist; it was heavy, laden with sulfur and the metallic tang of deep-earth minerals. It clung to the skin like a wet shroud, dampening sound and scent alike.
"Stay close," I commanded through the encrypted mind-link, my golden eyes cutting through the haze. Even in my human form, Titus was prowling just beneath the surface, his p
