The tension shattered with a sound that was not quite a howl and not quite a snarl, but something deeper and far more territorial.
At the center of the jackal pack, a massive figure rose above the rest. Its fur was mottled with jagged yellow markings that looked almost diseased beneath the harsh light. Even on all fours it stood nearly half the height of a grown man, and when it lifted its head, its eyes burned with cold, calculating malice that did not belong to an ordinary beast.
There was no mistaking it.
Level 30 Silver Boss: the Leopard Jackal King.
"Stonehaven, it's up. Move!" SoulfireBlade's voice cut cleanly through the rising growls.
"Let's go."
At the command, the thirty-man strike team advanced as one. Behind them, just outside the aggro boundary, Lily and Amber remained with the ten Soulfire members assigned to support duty, their attention fixed on the battlefield ahead.
