Astella's pov

The packhouse was eerily silent, the air thick with the weight of what we were about to undertake. Every step we took felt like a march into the unknown, yet hesitation was a luxury we couldn’t afford. Ryan and Michealla’s alliance with the rogues posed a threat not just to Emerald, but to the survival of everything we held dear.

I stood at the center of the strategy room, the map of the nearby rogue encampments spread out before me. Thane, ever the calculated leader, paced beside me, his jaw tight with concentration. Around us, the key warriors of the pack awaited instructions, their expressions a mixture of...