The fist was unexpected.Mid-swing, Heath grabbed the young warrior's wrist, twisted, and drove him face-first into the fissured ground. Like gunpowder, dust burst all around them. The boy, barely nineteen, gasped, blood trickling from a split lip as his ribs showed through his shirt."Once more?" Heath spoke in a quiet, almost soothing tone that caused mature men to recoil. "You think empty bellies can be fixed by swinging wild?"The group of spectators remained silent. The training site, formerly a meadow, was ringed by thirty, possibly forty wolves. It was now a broken bone and a bowl of dirt, with eyes too big for their faces, pups observed from behind their moms' legs.With his boots kicking up red dust, Vance pushed through the throng. The Beta was tall and broad, and his beard had become gray instead of black. He grabbed the child by the collar and pushed him in the direction of the others."Enough," yelled Vance. "We are not here to murder one another. Our goal is to learn how

The smell of wine spilled, roast boar, and smug delight filled the hall.Beau continued to boast about the duel he had just promised while circling Heath like a velvet vulture. Heath stood still. Heath's tongue tasted like ash every time the golden Alpha spoke. Beau exuded a thick, cloying, even obscene stolen power, yet beneath it, something else emerged, slipping through the seams like smoke beneath a door.Something old. Something that hurts.Heath's nose widened. Once, twice. The smell hit him more forcefully than a blow: moon-soaked fur, wild earth after lightning, and beneath that, the bitter taste of burning silver flesh. It was weak, muffled by spells and stone, but it screamed as it snagged the oldest portion of his brain.Free mine.Beau continued to speak. "Or are you worried that your famished dogs will see their Alpha bleed to death on my floor?"Heath slowly cocked his head, as wolves do when they hear their prey falter."Pardon me," he said in a wonderfully courteous to

The great hall doors exploded inward.Beau strode through the smoke and splinters, cloak half-torn, face streaked with blood and dust. Behind him, thirty enforcers fanned out in perfect formation, silver spears leveled. The air itself seemed to bend around him, thick with the stolen power that still leaked from the broken binding below.Every Crimson wolf froze.Heath stood in the center of the hall, one arm cradling the half-dead woman against his chest. Her crimson eyes were closed now, breath shallow, but her fingers still clutched his shirt like it was the only real thing left in the world. The other Savannah, wounded, spear jutting from her shoulder, leaned on Scarlett, both women staring at Beau with matching hate.Beau stopped ten paces away. His gaze swept the room, lingered on the unconscious woman in Heath’s arms, and something raw flickered across his face. Fear. Guilt. Hunger.Then the mask slammed back down.“My poor sister,” Beau said, voice smooth as spilled honey. “You

With his white beard dragging in the dust like a banner of surrender, Mason arrived before daybreak, leaning on his carved staff.The elderly wolf became motionless after glancing at the woman seated at the table."Close the doors," he replied in a shaky voice. Nobody comes in. Nobody.Scarlett herself barred the longhouse doors. Outside, Vance kept watch, snarling at anyone who dared to approach.Heath had not slept. Savannah's small, chilly, but still alive hand was in his when he sat next to her on the bench. Her lips were once more colorful. The fever had subsided throughout the night, but the scars continued to bleed slowly and darkly.Mason put down his staff and moved slowly in, like a man approaching a crossbow that was loaded."Gods down below," he muttered. "That's accurate."Gently, he raised Savannah's eyelid. The eye below had an unending blood-moon light and was all red, without any white or pupil.Mason took a step back and stumbled."White Wolf," he inhaled deeply. "Th

It has been seven years since the challenge circle was deployed.Before the longhouse at dawn, it was now etched in the dust: a rugged ring of packed dirt twenty paces broad, ringed by all the surviving wolves. The dismal light gutted the torches, steaming breath. Despite being kept back, children continued to watch from their moms' hips and rooftops.Vance stood in the middle, his shirt off, his chest heaving and scarred. Fear, fear for the group, dread for pups that wept themselves to sleep hungry, burned in his eyes hotter than rage.Heath turned to face him, naked up to the waist, the assassin's new wound already covered in silver and black scabs. Wrapped in Scarlett's extra cloak, Savannah gazed from the longhouse porch, her crimson eyes unblinking. Like Heat over coals, the air surrounding her crackled softly.Vance's voice carried to the back of the crowd when he spoke first.His formal words cracked with emotion as he stated, "I challenge Alpha Heath of Crimson Howl." "For gui