[Damian's POV]

The low-hanging fog clung to the forest floor, a heavy, cold blanket that muffled sound. My paws were silent on the damp earth, each footfall a study in controlled power. My mind-link with Alek was a steady, quiet connection—a channel of unspoken purpose between two predators on the hunt. We moved as one, two shadows in a world of gray, our senses on full alert for the foul, sickly sweet odor of the feral creatures.

Another sighting, two miles out, Alek's thought came ...