I’d waited for Stefano until dawn, but he never returned. Anxiety wrapped around me tighter with every passing moment, amplifying my senses to any faint sound from outside. The knowledge that the Supreme Squad occupied the neighboring rooms should have reassured me, but it only heightened my unease.

I kept wondering why Stefano and Antonio hadn’t come back. Had they been caught off guard? Had General Emiliano found the remaining members of the Fang Hills Pack? A shiver rippled ...