The forest was quiet the next morning.
Too quiet.
I noticed it before I even stepped beyond the edge of the village.
Usually, the woods were never truly silent. There was always something.
Birds calling from the branches.
Leaves shifting beneath small animals.
The distant crack of a twig.
The soft rush of the river beyond the trees.
But that morning, everything seemed to be holding its breath.
I stopped beside one of the old boundary markers and listened.
Nothing.
My wolf lifted her head inside me.
Something is wrong.
I frowned.
"You said that yesterday."
Yesterday, I was curious.
She paused.
Today, I'm afraid.
That made me straighten.
My hand instinctively moved toward the small knife at my belt.
I looked deeper into the forest.
Nothing moved.
Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched.
Maybe Lysandra had gotten into my head.
Maybe after seeing that strange symbol yesterday, I was simply imagining things.
Or maybe—
A howl suddenly broke through the trees.
Short.
Sharp.
A patrol signal.
I turned toward the sound.
Another howl answered from farther away.
Then another.
I relaxed slightly.
The patrols had started their morning routes.
Everything was normal.
At least, that was what I told myself.
---
By midday, the village was still busy.
People moved between buildings carrying supplies. The infirmary had its usual stream of patients. The training grounds were filled with the sound of weapons striking wooden targets.
The new patrol system seemed to be working.
Pairs and groups had spread throughout the territory instead of allowing wolves to wander alone.
For the first time in several days, I thought perhaps Alpha Roran's decision had made everyone feel safer.
I was helping Lysandra sort dried herbs when I heard the front door of the infirmary slam open.
I looked up.
Mira stood in the doorway.
She was breathing heavily.
Her face had gone pale.
"Lysandra."
The healer immediately stopped what she was doing.
"What happened?"
Mira swallowed.
"It's the eastern patrol."
Lysandra's expression changed.
"What about them?"
"They haven't returned."
The room went still.
I slowly lowered the bundle of herbs in my hands.
"When were they supposed to be back?" Lysandra asked.
"Two hours ago."
My stomach tightened.
Two hours wasn't long.
Not normally.
Patrols sometimes took longer than expected.
A wounded animal.
A broken trail.
A storm.
There were countless reasons.
But Mira looked terrified.
"Who was with them?"
"Four wolves."
She hesitated.
"Rowan. Darius. Selene. And Tomas."
I knew three of them.
Rowan had been on patrol with me before.
He wasn't particularly friendly, but he wasn't cruel either.
He had always seemed dependable.
"Maybe they're checking the eastern ridge," I said.
My voice sounded weaker than I wanted.
Mira shook her head.
"They were supposed to check the river crossing and return before noon."
Lysandra stared at her.
"Has anyone gone looking?"
"Alpha Roran is assembling a search party now."
My wolf stirred.
Four wolves.
I swallowed.
Four wolves shouldn't simply disappear.
Not inside Silvercrest territory.
Not like this.
---
The gathering at the central grounds happened quickly.
Too quickly.
Within minutes, wolves had begun arriving from every direction.
I stayed near the edge of the crowd.
That was where I belonged.
Near the edge.
Unnoticed.
Invisible.
Except this time, nobody seemed particularly interested in who was standing where.
Fear had a way of making everyone equal.
Alpha Roran stood on the raised platform with Kieran and Callen beside him.
The expression on Roran's face was unlike anything I had seen before.
Hard.
Controlled.
But beneath it was something else.
Concern.
"The eastern patrol was scheduled to return at eleven," he said.
His voice carried across the gathering.
"They have not returned."
Whispers spread through the crowd.
"We don't know what happened yet," Roran continued. "Until we do, no one leaves the territory alone."
His eyes moved across the crowd.
"All patrols are suspended until further notice."
That caused an even louder reaction.
Suspended.
That meant something serious had happened.
Kieran stepped forward.
"We found the first trail marker."
Everyone became silent.
"It was approximately a mile east of the river crossing."
Callen's jaw tightened.
"What did you find?"
Kieran looked toward him.
"Nothing."
The word was simple.
But somehow it was worse than anything else he could have said.
"No tracks?"
"Tracks," Kieran replied. "But they stop."
Someone near me whispered, "Stop?"
Kieran nodded.
"The patrol entered the eastern trail."
He paused.
"We found all four sets of footprints."
My heart began beating faster.
"And then?"
"They disappear."
A chill traveled down my spine.
Disappear.
Not scatter.
Not become difficult to follow.
Disappear.
---
The search party was formed shortly afterward.
I wasn't surprised when my name wasn't called.
Why would it be?
I wasn't one of the stronger wolves.
I wasn't ranked.
I wasn't important.
I was simply Elara.
The girl people forgot was standing in the room.
I watched as Kieran, Callen, Rowan's brother, and several experienced trackers prepared to leave.
Then I noticed something.
Kieran wasn't listening to the instructions.
He was looking toward the forest.
Toward the east.
Toward the river.
His expression was distant.
Almost troubled.
For one strange moment, his eyes shifted toward me.
Our gazes met.
My heart jumped.
I immediately looked away.
I shouldn't have.
But I couldn't help it.
Every time I looked at him, I remembered the Blood Moon.
The scent of cedar smoke.
The bond.
The whispers.
The certainty that he would never want someone like me.
My wolf whimpered.
He's looking at us.
"Don't," I whispered under my breath.
You don't know what he thinks.
"I know enough."
No. You think you know.
I ignored her.
I always did when she said things I didn't want to hear.
---
The search party left.
The village slowly returned to its uneasy rhythm.
But nobody truly went back to normal.
People stood outside their homes.
Conversations happened in whispers.
Every distant howl made someone turn their head.
Every wolf returning from a supply run was immediately questioned.
Hours passed.
The sun began descending.
Still nothing.
I was in Lysandra's garden when the first search party returned.
Only they didn't return with the missing patrol.
They returned with blood.
I saw the moment they entered the village.
A few wolves were carrying a torn piece of fabric.
Someone screamed.
Lysandra rushed toward them.
"What happened?"
One of the trackers shook his head.
"We found this near the eastern ridge."
He held up the cloth.
Dark red.
Torn.
I recognized it.
Rowan wore a jacket with that exact material.
My chest tightened.
"Is he dead?"
The question came from somewhere in the crowd.
The tracker didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
But then another wolf spoke.
"No bodies."
Everyone went silent.
"What?"
"No bodies," the tracker repeated. "Just blood."
Callen stepped forward.
"How much?"
The tracker hesitated.
"Enough."
The word sent a shiver through me.
"Was it theirs?" Kieran asked.
The tracker looked at him.
"We don't know."
Kieran's expression darkened.
"You don't know?"
"There were too many scents."
"Whose?"
The tracker looked toward the forest.
"Shadowfen."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
The name seemed to change the air itself.
Shadowfen.
The pack everyone had been trying not to think about.
The pack whose tracks had appeared near our borders.
The pack that had been watching us.
The pack that might now have four of our wolves.
Or something worse.
---
That night, nobody slept well.
I certainly didn't.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring through the small window of my cabin.
The forest beyond it was black.
Too black.
My wolf was restless.
They are still alive.
I froze.
"What?"
The missing ones.
"How do you know?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then—
Because I don't smell death.
I slowly stood.
The words shouldn't have comforted me.
They didn't.
Because if the patrol wasn't dead...
Where were they?
A sudden knock came from outside.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Elara?"
Lysandra.
I opened the door.
She stood there holding a lantern.
Her face looked tired.
"Come with me."
"Where?"
"The infirmary."
I followed without questioning.
Inside, Mira was sitting at the table.
She looked up.
"We found something."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
Mira pushed a piece of paper toward me.
I stared at it.
My own sketch.
The symbol from yesterday.
Three curved lines around a small circle.
My blood went cold.
"Where did you get this?"
Lysandra sat across from me.
"It was found near the eastern ridge."
I looked at her.
"The same symbol?"
She nodded.
"Exactly the same."
My fingers tightened around the paper.
"But that doesn't make sense."
"Why?"
"Because I found it yesterday."
Lysandra's eyes sharpened.
"And where did you find yours?"
"Near the river."
Silence.
Mira slowly looked at Lysandra.
Lysandra looked back at me.
Something passed between them.
Something they weren't saying.
"What?"
Lysandra sighed.
"There are old stories about that part of the forest."
I stared at her.
"What kind of stories?"
"Stories that aren't supposed to be remembered."
That answer frightened me more than if she had simply told me there were monsters in the woods.
I looked down at the symbol.
The little circle in the center suddenly seemed different.
Almost like an eye.
My wolf went completely still.
Elara.
"What?"
Someone is outside.
My head snapped toward the window.
Nothing.
Just darkness.
I stood.
"Lysandra."
She followed my gaze.
"What?"
"I think someone is watching us."
Mira immediately stood.
Lysandra blew out the lantern.
The room fell into darkness.
For several seconds, none of us moved.
Then we heard it.
A footstep.
Outside.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Another.
Closer.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Lysandra whispered, "Stay behind me."
But I couldn't move.
Because beneath the fear was something else.
A strange familiarity.
The same sensation I'd felt beside the river.
The same presence from my dream.
The same feeling that the forest had been waiting for me.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then a low growl came from beyond the window.
Not human.
Not wolf.
Something deeper.
Something that seemed to vibrate through my bones.
My wolf whispered one word.
Run.
I didn't.
I couldn't.
I stared into the darkness.
And for the briefest moment, I saw two pale eyes between the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then they vanished.
---
By morning, the entire pack knew.
The eastern patrol had not simply gone missing.
Someone—or something—had taken them.
And for the first time since the Shadowfen signs began appearing around our territory, Silvercrest finally understood one terrible truth.
The enemy wasn't waiting outside our borders anymore.