Within hours, Nightshade was overflowing with terrified refugees. They came with nothing but the clothes on their backs, some bearing fresh wounds from their escapes. The stories they told painted a horrifying picture.
"He just appeared," a middle-aged wolf named Thomas explained, his hands shaking. "Walked into our pack lands with maybe twenty wolves behind him. Our Alpha, strong wolf, ruled for fifteen years tried to assert dominance. Vex looked at him, and our Alpha just... collapsed. Started whimpering like a pup. Then Vex announced that Alliance was being 'purified' of Coalition corruption. Anyone who had participated in cultural exchanges, anyone who had spoken favorably about Coalition, anyone suspected of 'weakness', all marked as traitors."
"How is that possible?" Emma asked, treating a refugee's injured arm. "One wolf can't just claim authority over all of the Alliance."
