The forest stood in a fragile stillness, as though the night itself feared to interrupt what was unfolding at the border. Frost clung to the trees like silent witnesses, and the silver glow of the moon spilled across the clearing where the rogue wolf lay trembling between territories between loyalties between life and death.Ayla could feel every heartbeat around her.Kael’s tension burned like a drawn blade. The pack warriors stood rigid, uncertain whether this stranger was threat or omen. Even the wind had softened, brushing past in uneasy whispers.The rogue’s breathing rattled in his chest.Not feral. Not mindless.Broken.Ayla stepped closer