Chapter 40

Aubrey's POV The late autumn wind whipped through the trees, sending dried leaves skittering across the ground as I sat in my room, staring at the crow perched outside my window. Its obsidian feathers gleamed in the fading sunlight, intelligent eyes fixed on mine as it delivered Jax's latest message. My fingers trembled slightly as I unrolled the small piece of parchment tied to its leg. *The truth of your pack's extinction lies within the forbidden lands. Tonight. Western border. Guard change at midnight.* I fell back against my bed, the soft cotton sheets doing little to comfort me as my mind raced. The forbidden lands. Even the name sent a chill down my spine. I'd been raised on stories of wolves who ventured in and never returned, yet here I was, contemplating entering them myself. Pulling on my worn leather jacket over a dark gray henley and black jeans, I tried to quiet the doubts swirling in my mind. Jax's messages had become increasingly frequent over the past weeks, each one m