** Ryder’s POV **

The forest is quiet tonight. Too quiet.

It’s the kind of quiet that makes every instinct in me hum with warning.

Before we set out on our first patrol together, I’d gathered the new enforcers in the clearing outside the cabins. They stood in a semicircle, Midnight wolves, strong and disciplined, waiting as I extended the pack link.

It’s a strange feeling, letting outsiders in, even temporarily. The pack link feels different when it touches foreign wolves. It’s ...