** Callen’s POV **

The woods look different today, quieter, too still.

The air is heavy with the memory of last night’s chaos. We move in a staggered formation, Phoenix wolves up front, Midnight marksmen on the ridgeline to our right, keeping pace from a distance. Ryder leads, Remy just behind him, and Ronnie flanking the left. I walk a step behind them, watching for any sign of threat.

No one speaks. The only sounds are our footsteps and the soft, metallic shifting of Midnight’s ...