Chapter 365: The Test Proper
The forest closed around them the moment Team Six split apart.
Branches heavy with snow drooped overhead, blocking what little light filtered through the clouds above. The air was cold and thick, every breath visible, every sound strangely muted beneath the constant hush of falling snow. The snow here was more dense than what they were used to in pack compounds. One wrong move and they'll go missing.
Each of them moved alone now, following different paths, alert and silent, carrying the weight of the task Ethan had given them.
Joren ran in wolf form, his paws barely making a sound as they struck the snow-dusted ground.
He kept low, body streamlined, weaving easily between tree trunks and thick roots. His ears were angled forward, every nerve tuned to the faint sound that had first caught his attention.
Water.
It was distant, but unmistakable.
A quiet rush, like something moving endlessly over stone.
