The compound did not sleep that night.
Torches burned along every wall. Patrols doubled. Warriors moved through the halls with tense shoulders and sharp eyes, their wolves restless beneath their skin.
The illusion of safety was gone.
Selene stood near the training yard as dawn slowly bled into the sky. The pale light made the bloodstains on the courtyard stone impossible to ignore.
Three assassins.
All dead before they could speak.
Silas joined her a moment later, rolling his shoulders as if he had not slept either.
"Reports are coming in," he said. "No breaches on the outer wall."
Selene wasn't surprised.
"That means they didn't come from outside."
Silas's jaw tightened.
"They were let in."
The words hung heavy in the cold morning air.
Kai and Rowan approached from the corridor, both looking far too alert for boys their age.
"Elder Marrek is awake," Rowan said.
"He's angry," Kai added.
Silas gave a short, humorless laugh.
