ISABEL POV

The camp broke quite early before sunrise as planned and everyone sensing Alpha Xavier's mood decided to tread cautiously. The ride back to Wolfshade was tense and silent. I rode close to Valerian at first, but he didn't speak much. The men were focused on the task at hand, their expressions serious.

Alpha Xavier later decided to join up with us and he and Valerian rode on either side of me and no one said anything. Which placed everyone on the edge.

Dried meat and bread was shared around midday but everyone ate on their mount. Valerian slowed the pace to a slow trot to allow everyone to...