The border was too quiet.

Alfred walked beside me, jaw tight, eyes scanning everything. Warriors formed a solid wall around us. No one spoke. No one breathed too loudly. The air felt stretched, like it was waiting to snap.

Then we saw them.

Dozens of wolves. Some in human form, some half-shifted, some barely standing. All of them kneeling. All of them facing me.

The moment I stepped forward, every head bowed lower.

Alfred’s arm moved in front of me instantly. “Stay ...