The forest whispered, "Send us the Omega." The Alpha only grinned and replied, "Come and try."
MARCUS POV
I did not go to my quarters or wash off the soot, the blood, or whatever else clung to me from the forest. Let them see it. Let them smell the smoke. I stood just outside the council doors, jaw tight, fists still dusted with ash. The guards posted nearby did not speak a word. They knew better. Or they just saw what was written across my face and chose silence over stupidity. I closed my eyes.
Five dead. Three broken. One mission that should have been routine turned into a nightmare, and we did not have a name for it. I have fought beasts. Men. Rogues. Famine. Betrayal, but nothing like this. Whatever lives inside that forest does not fight. It does not roar. It waits. It watches. And then it breaks you from the inside out.
