Duskmoon Village was a ghost town.
At least, that was what it appeared to be when Violet and her mates stepped through the portal.
Not a single villager greeted them. No children ran through the streets. No livestock wandered between the houses. Even the wind seemed reluctant to pass through the crooked wooden buildings.
There was just silence.
The wolves emerged from the portal one after another, spilling into the empty village square. As instructed, they gave Violet and her mates a respectful distance, spreading outward to secure the area.
The stillness was unnerving, until a thin ribbon of gray smoke emerged from deeper within the village.
"Am I the only one seeing this?" Griffin asked.
"What the hell?" Alaric breathed, eyes narrowed with suspicion.
The smoke rolled across the ground and slipped between abandoned houses, crawled over fences, and flowed through the grass. It rushed toward them and Violet barely had time to do anything before it washed over her.
