Ston

ay, I bega

a wall around my home. A high, thick wall of solid stone that would enclose the

n't need a quarry. The mou

ht as I crouched, a warning flare of heat, but I ignored it. It had to weigh over five hundred pounds. I found my purchase, set my feet, and pulle

in the dirt and set it down, the ground trembling with the impact. The old wound throbbed dully with

r. Her bright eyes followed my every move, a look of placid curiosity on her

d from a distance, their faces a mixture of awe and terror. They saw me tear boulders from the earth with my bare hands, saw me li

st a madman anymore. I was a monster. A troll. The offspring of some forgot

ad become her obsession. She gathered her circle of friends-gossips and bored she-wolves l

mbling with manufactured victimhood. "He threw me out. For no r

etites whetted for sca

hidden away," Nora su

broken. All that time in the Alpha King's prisons... maybe he

eir collective curiosity, fueled by jealousy

ght. He always goes deep into the forest to hunt after the sun sets.

on another's land, especially one who had a treaty with

ed. "He's just one wolf. There

ge, was contagious. One by one, they agreed. They would b

ng tasks of lifting, carrying, and placing. The wall grew with astonishing sp

l barrier to match the monstrous ones she already had. Inside, my true sentinels kept their vigil. Beyond the walls, in the deep shadows of the forest that were as much my domain as the cabin itself, my true sentinels kept their vigil. Fen, the Dire Wolf, with his silent tread and eyes of ghost-light, would

rom the day's labor-the silver scar still tender beneath my palm-but the hunt wouldn't wait. It was a n

dows detached themselves from the edge of the forest. Serilda and her

a dark, jagged silhouette

red, her voice a tens

hought they were about t

ut to step in