Security shifted immediately, but Thoren held up a hand.
“Let her.”
The acting alpha watched closely but did not stop me.
I crouched near a patch of flattened brush just beyond the stake. The ground bore weight marks that did not align with pack patrol boots or standard shifts. They were deeper. Heavier. Multiple.
“They stood here,” I said quietly.
“How many?” Thoren asked.
“Three. Maybe four.”
“Recently?”
“Last night,” I replied.
A murmur broke out behind us.
The acting alpha’s posture changed subtly. Not defensive now. Alert.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
He scanned the trees with a different intensity now.
“You did not detect this?” Thoren asked him.
“We patrol in cycles,” he said. “If they came between rotations—”
“They were confident,” I interrupted gently. “They didn’t rus
