Chapter 45. The Hunter's Circle

The sky bruised into the deep purples of approaching dawn, but no one slept.

Selene stood on the ridge above the hollowed camp, her silhouette sharp against the skeletal trees. Beneath her, the wounded wolves slept fitfully, curled around the faint embers of dying fires. Sentinels paced the perimeter, silent as shadows.

Alaric joined her without a word. His presence was a familiar weight beside her, steady as the earth.

Selene tilted her head, listening to the forest.

"They're close," she said quietly.

Alaric nodded, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. "They’re circling."

The Council's hunters—elite trackers trained from childhood to pursue and destroy traitors—moved through the woods. Selene could feel them, like pressure against her skin.

It was not a question