Alaric stood between Zara and the three Grimclaw wolves.
The air around them felt heavier by the second.
Zara was still clutching her small knife, but she knew it wouldn't be much use if the wolves attacked again.
She stared at Alaric's back.
The man didn't look afraid.
Even with three enormous wolves surrounding him, Alaric merely stood there with both hands at his sides.
Calm.
Too calm.
"Go," Alaric repeated without turning around.
Zara frowned.
"Where?"
"Away from here."
"I don't know the way out."
Alaric fell silent.
As if he didn't care about her answer at all.
But before he could say anything, his ears twitched slightly.
There was another sound.
Very far away.
The sound of footsteps.
Not belonging to the Grimclaw wolves in front of him.
Alaric looked toward the trees.
His expression changed.
"How many?" he asked.
Zara frowned.
"Who?"
Alaric didn't answer.
He merely raised a hand.
The movement was small.
Yet all three Grimclaw wolves immediately took defensive positions.
Then one of them shifted back into human form.
The man stood there breathing heavily after Alaric's earlier attack.
"No need to ask, Blackthorn."
His smile was full of mockery.
"They're already inside."
Alaric gave him a sharp look.
"Who allowed you to cross the boundary?"
The man laughed.
"You're not the one who decides who can come in."
Alaric's jaw tightened.
"I warned you."
"And we don't care."
The man took one step forward.
"Moonforge has been hiding behind this forest for far too long."
The name of his clan made Alaric's eyes darken.
Moonforge.
The clan he had defended alone for years.
The clan whose family had been almost entirely slaughtered.
The clan that was the reason he had never left the Forbidden Forest.
Alaric clenched his fists.
But before he could move, a voice sounded inside his mind.
Alaric.
Troy's voice.
Alaric closed his eyes for a moment.
What?
The eastern shield is cracked.
Alaric immediately turned toward the east.
So that's what caused it.
He had sensed that something was wrong all along.
It wasn't only the presence of humans inside his territory.
The magical protection that had surrounded the Forbidden Forest all this time had been disrupted.
And someone had damaged it from the outside.
How bad is it?
It hasn't collapsed yet. But foreign energy is getting in.
Alaric opened his eyes.
His gaze grew even colder.
Take everyone to the safe house.
Troy fell silent.
Including the guards?
Everyone.
What about you?
Alaric looked at the three Grimclaw members in front of him.
I'll handle this.
Alaric—
Do it.
The mindlink was severed.
Zara watched Alaric's expression change.
The man looked far more serious than before.
"What's wrong?"
Alaric looked at her.
"Nothing."
"Clearly something is wrong."
"You ask too many questions."
Zara fell silent.
Her face tightened with annoyance.
"I just want to know if I'm in danger."
Alaric stared at her for several seconds.
Then his answer came, brief and blunt.
"Yes."
Zara swallowed.
That honest answer was more frightening than any attempt Alaric could have made to reassure her.
Deep inside Moonforge territory, Troy ran through the stone corridors.
Several clan members who were still near the main house immediately turned to look.
"Everyone to the shelter," Troy ordered.
One of the guards looked confused.
"Why?"
"The Alpha's orders."
No one dared ask anything else.
The Moonforge members began to move.
They were already accustomed to following Alaric's orders without asking too many questions.
But Troy's face was not as calm as usual.
He stopped in front of a large door made of black wood.
Above it was Moonforge's crescent-moon emblem.
Troy stared at the symbol.
The shield Alaric had built over the years had never suffered damage this severe.
If someone had managed to breach it—
that meant their enemies were no longer merely watching from the shadows.
They were testing Moonforge's defenses.
And that meant the war might have already begun.
Alaric looked at the Grimclaw again.
"You didn't come here just for that human."
The man in front of him smiled.
"You're pretty smart."
Zara felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
Alaric stepped forward.
"What are you looking for?"
"None of your business."
"This is my territory."
"It used to be."
Alaric stopped.
A faint smile appeared on the man's face.
"You still think you're the ruler here?"
Alaric's eyes sharpened.
"Yes."
One word.
Cold.
Certain.
Without the slightest hint of doubt.
The Grimclaw man raised his hand.
The three wolves around them began to move.
Zara stepped back.
Alaric remained where he was.
But before the fight could begin, the Grimclaw man suddenly drew in a deep breath.
His gaze shifted to Zara.
His smile widened.
"So it's true."
Zara froze.
"What's true?"
The man didn't answer.
He merely stared at Zara as if he had just discovered something incredibly valuable.
Alaric noticed immediately.
His body shifted slightly, blocking Zara from their view.
"Don't look at her."
The Grimclaw man laughed.
"Why?"
Alaric didn't answer.
"Afraid we'll take her?"
Alaric's gaze turned threatening.
Zara saw the man's hand curl into a fist.
There was something different about Alaric's attitude.
It wasn't merely anger over his territory being breached.
It was as if Zara becoming their target had made him far more vigilant.
"I don't know who that woman is," the Grimclaw man said, "but her scent..."
He drew in another breath.
"Interesting."
Alaric moved at once.
In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of the man.
His fist slammed into the man's face.
Thud!
The man was sent flying several yards.
Zara was startled.
"Alaric!"
Alaric glanced back at her.
"Quiet."
Then he turned to face the enemy again.
The Grimclaw man got to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
Instead of getting angry, he laughed.
"Now I understand."
Alaric narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"You won't let us touch her."
The man's smile grew even wider.
"How interesting, Blackthorn."
Alaric didn't answer.
He simply stood in front of Zara.
Protecting her.
Even though he himself didn't yet understand why he was doing it.
Elsewhere, the night wind began to move through the trees.
The fog grew thicker.
Atop one of the hills, a figure stood motionless.
It watched the Forbidden Forest from a distance.
Then it turned its gaze toward the eastern part of the forest.
The magical shield that had remained invisible to humans for years now showed a thin crack.
Dark energy seeped through the gap.
Someone had opened a path.
And they hadn't come alone.
Meanwhile, Alaric was still standing before his enemies.
Zara was right behind him.
For the first time in years, Alaric felt something more troubling than vengeance.
The presence of a human.
A girl who shouldn't even have been in his territory.
Yet for some reason—
he didn't want anyone to touch her.
And Zara's scent growing clearer in the air kept disturbing his wolf's instincts.
Alaric didn't yet know what any of it meant.
But one thing was certain.
Grimclaw had returned.
And they had found something inside the Forbidden Forest that even Alaric himself didn't yet understand.