#Chapter 143 – The Rogue King

Damon The pre-dawn fog was still thick when the first howl broke the sky. It was a challenge. The kind of sound that split bone from breath. My heart raced, nostrils flaring to take in all the scents. The others behind me stiffened, their wolves bristling beneath human skins. We were halfway down the southern ridge, close enough to smell pine smoke…and blood. I drew my blade without ceremony. Steel hissed against leather. I didn’t need words to rally the warriors behind me, they were already falling into formation. We’d been here before. But this… this was different. “Hold the ridge,” I ordered. “Protect the flank.” Zane stirred inside me, pacing. You feel that? he growled. They know where we are. And they did. The first wave hit faster than expected. Rogues poured from the tree line like floodwater; not scattered like they should have been, but coordinated. Two Packs emerged from the east and west ravines, flanking us. “How the hell—” one of the warriors cursed