Chapter 279

Lucas POV

The border is never truly quiet. Even when it looks empty… it’s not.

I move through it like I always do. The pack calls it patrol. I call it listening to the land before it starts to devour our people.

My boots press into damp earth as I stop near a fallen tree line. Nothing seems wrong at first glance. Wind moves through the leaves. Birds still cry somewhere far off.

But my instincts tighten and take a longer glance at it before moving closer to it, I crouch slowly, my fingers brushing the ground. The soil here is disturbed. It looks very clean and very recent . Like someone tried to erase their steps but didn’t care enough to finish the job.

I exhale quietly.

“They’ve been here again,” I mutter.

One of my scouts shifts behind me. “The Demons?”

I didn't answer him immediately. I stand, walking and scanning the treeline instead. The forest looks normal. That’s the problem. It always does right before something goe