ARIA POV
Blood spilled across my face as the enemy wolf lunged at me. I ducked just in time, feeling claws graze my shoulder instead of my neck.
"Aria, get back!" Kael shouted, jumping between me and the attacker.
But I was done lying. I grabbed the silver knife from my boot—the one Lucien had insisted I carry—and slashed upward. The enemy wolf howled in pain and stumbled back.
What should have been a quiet morning watch had turned into a bloodbath. Twelve of our wolves attacked at the northern border. Five already dead.
"They knew exactly where we'd be," Mira gasped, pressing her hand against a wound on her side. "Someone told them."
I studied the forest, counting at least twenty enemy wolves. I recognized the marks of the Stone Ridge pack—our most vocal opponents. But there were others too—wolves from at least three different packs working together.
