The fortress had never been so quiet.

Even after the chaos—after Valec vanished and the enemy wolves retreated into the mists—there was no celebration. No cries of victory. Only whispers, and the sound of wind weaving through the shattered stones.

Because something had changed.

Not just in the Alpha.

In the land itself.

The trees no longer bent toward the fortress as they once had. The mist clung tighter to the borders. The river that ran through the cliff had begun to glow faintly ...