The pack sat eerily quiet when Voren finally made it back, the kind of deep silence that wraps everything just before dawn breaks through.
Only the patrol teams moved like shadows along the stone pathways carved into the mountain, while everyone else stayed lost in sleep under the last scraps of fading darkness.
A sharp, cold breeze carried the familiar scents of pine, damp earth, and wolf that always meant home.
Most of the pack wouldn't stir for hours, but Voren wasn't about to waste any time. His long strides carried him straight toward the shaman's dwelling, his face set tight as his mind raced ahead to everything that still needed handling.
She lived in a smaller stone home tucked right beneath the massive rock formation that housed most of the pack. From the outside it looked modest, almost easy to miss compared to the towering structure above it.
