Chapter 92. Ardan’s War Story

Celeste’s POV

Ardan began his story by taking me back to his days in the East trenches. In those brutal times, he was still in the height of his power—strong, confident, unyielding—and leading the Ironshade pack into one territorial conflict after another. He told me how they had been locked in a series of savage battles with rival werewolf packs that coveted the same hunting grounds and sacred forests.

Among these foes, one stood out for its particular ferocity: the Savage Revere pack. The Reveres served under the command of the dreaded Dreadmaw pack, and they were every bit as ruthless and barbaric as their overlords. Ardan said they relied on weapons supplied by Dreadmaw—spears, blades, even crude crossbows—and he later discovered that they had begun tainting those weapons with poison to ensure each strike did more than just wound.

Facing such a vicious enemy, Ardan devised a daring plan. He gathered his most trusted wolf-warriors—those he deemed swiftes