~Kaida Orion POV~
The snow from last night had not melted, it lay in thin patches along the mountain path, crunching softly under my boots as I followed Biat's hurried steps. My fingers gripped the folds of my cloak tighter, the wind cutting across my cheeks like sharp blades and the scent of pine filled the air, faintly mixed with something like blood.
Biat stopped abruptly and raised his hand for silence. His eyes, sharper than any wolf's, scanned the shadows between the trees, I heard it too... low breathing, ragged and uneven, coming from somewhere ahead.
"Kaida," Biat said, his voice deep, "stay close to me."
I nodded, though my heart was already racing ahead of my body. Every step felt heavier the deeper we went, as though the forest itself was warning us to turn back but I could not, not when Lupus was still out there, wounded, lost, and maybe… worse.
