They pressed on, splitting around the dead and wounded, already inside the outer line but bogged down in the traps.

They hadn't gone far, the inner defenses holding for now, their leaders barking low orders to regroup and push the flanks.

Meanwhile, the Varyn Pack warriors burst from their barracks, homes, eyes glowing feral in the dark and muscles bulging with raw power. With axes and daggers in hand, they charged toward the borders, boots thundering on the earth.

"Intruders! To the borders!" Harlan bellowed from the front, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Form lines! Axes up!"

The fight erupted in raw, charged chaos, the air...