Chapter 161

• Every passing minute of the three-hour journey tightened the grip of anxiety around my chest. I shifted restlessly in my seat, as though the very fabric beneath me had turned to needles. Icarus noticed—more than once—and each time, he offered a reassuring smile, a silent gesture meant to steady me. It worked for fleeting moments, until the next surge of unease stole the air from my lungs, leaving me teetering on the edge of suffocation.
• The sight of the road sign—fifty miles to Crimsonville—sent an involuntary shudder through me. We had entered Southern Moon Pack territory. The long convoy of black vans pressed forward, weaving through the vast forest that wrapped around Crimsonville Mountain. It was an ideal hunting ground for wolves… or a concealed battlefield, one where bloodshed could unfold far from human sight.
• Crimsonville sprawled across the base of the mountain, climbing its slopes like a beast with outstretched claws. The lower districts, furthest from the woods, housed humans and lower-ranked wolves. Higher up, those who contributed to the pack’s power—or my father’s wealth—claimed their place. And at the summit, surrounded by dense woods, stood Cassius Marwood’s mansion—our ultimate target.