Chapter54: Challenging the foe

KELLY THOMPSON'S POV  The forest swallowed us whole, its canopy a shroud of whispered secrets and half-lit darkness. I led Paul Biansky and my son Eden deeper into its heart, our footsteps a silent dance atop the thick blanket of leaves. The scent of damp earth and ancient pines filled my nostrils, a familiar perfume that both calmed and alerted the wolf within me. "Keep your senses sharp," I murmured, my voice a mere thread in the vast tapestry of the woods. Eden nodded, his youthful face set in a determined mask as he scanned the underbrush. Paul, though new to our alliance, matched our pace with a soldier's discipline. We met Elara Windrider and Gamma Thorne at the forest's edge, where shadow played with light. Elara's presence was like a balm; her affinity with the wilds was evident in the way she moved-an extension of the breeze itself. Thorne, on the other hand, was a fortress of muscle and quiet resolve, his scar a testament to battles won and lost. "Victory will be ours," I dec