Chapter 42. The Council's Ultimatum

The howls still echoed across the Hollow when the first arrows struck the trees.

Selene flinched, instinct snapping her body into a crouch. Alaric’s grip tightened around her hand, steadying her, anchoring her.

Another arrow thudded into the ground inches from where a young wolf knelt. A warning shot—calculated, precise. A show of force.

The emissaries had not left the forest alone.

From the thick mists beyond the boundary stones, dark shapes emerged. Enforcers. Dozens of them. Armored in shades of midnight and iron, their faces obscured by heavy helms, their scent fouled by the magic the Council laced into their blood.

Alaric growled low, the sound vibrating through Selene’s bones. She knew that sound. It was not a warning.

It was a promise.

The largest of the enforcers steppe