ed on the hee

the streets of Eldergrove, broken only by the sharp caw of crows perched on the chapel steeple. The villagers awoke to an unsettling disc

ng, panic ha

ee curved slashes marred the wooden beam that held up the awning. "R

, the ironmonger, his knuckles whi

e Sun Father. "The beasts mark their prey," she muttered to her granddau

warming sun. Her eyes were fixed on the slashes carved into the wood above the seamstress's d

mbo

t the marks

ere a m

yet decipher the languag

d her without harm, and he had protected her. That creature was capable o

. a g

pted by raised voices echo

uncilman bellowed. "They cross our borders without fear. They

Before the next full moon, while

tion. Merek, a stout, gray-bearded man in a long embroidered coat, s

the room. Her leg was still wrapped in linen from the injury she'd tak

ed as Aria joined her. "And afr

slowly, but

ut of vengeance," he growled. "But we cannot ignore this. These m

white wolf. The old stories say he's the Alpha of t

nched. No. You do

ad to

to communicate," she said

ell into su

ward her, brow f

orward. "The marks they weren't random. They were carved too preci

You sound like a d

mboldened. "And I know the differ

tle warning glance,

" she said. "Long ago, before the Great Divide, there were clans who lived beside the werewolves. Not as enemies

k replied stiffly. "Before they turned

it, Aria thought

sper, of a wolf with white fur who carried the moon's blessing. He would

" someone

ollowly, like somethin

to bear more of the argument. Lina f

ly once they were alone behind the hal

p, startled. "

omething too. Not a beast. A soul. In his

you say anyth

son than reason. And right now

l, staring out at the forest. "He

kn

nk he wants t

e true. But the others in his pack? Or the ones in ours

iercely. "Who is he. What he wants. If there

slight nod. "Then you'll have to go where the

. "That place

Moonclan once protected it. If the white wolf is Moonmarked,

quickened. "

east. Past the Ash Holl

f you choose this path, you cannot tell

nders

she

he cold stars, Aria packed a satchel with herbs, a waterskin, and her mother's moonstone pend

nce more towa

t and tall, under a sky b

law marks and fear. Ahead of her, the path curved into the dark,

t the moon above, Aria

shrine. Towa

d her