** Ryder’s POV **

We don’t celebrate. We don’t howl with victory cries or shake ourselves clean of blood and fear. We simply settle, our shoulders relaxing after carrying too much weight. Maybe all that will come later.

The pack moves quietly. Not in shock or grief, but in assessment. Enforcers regroup, bloodied but standing. Healers move with practised efficiency, hands glowing, voices calm. Leo walks between fallen hunters, checking them, issuing clipped orders, keeping ...