The air felt wrong. Heavy and electric, like lightning waiting to strike.

I stood in the war room beneath the main hall, staring at the map spread across the table. Red markers showed the academy's defensive positions. Blue marked the reported sightings of the rival pack. There were too many blue markers, and they were getting closer.

"They're not hiding their approach," Caleb said, adding another marker to the eastern border. "Three separate scout reports in the last hour. All ...