The first attempt did not come from Black Hollow. It came from men who wanted Black Hollow to look at them.
Two nights after the meeting on neutral ground, Grimridge's southern perimeter began to feel crowded in a way Sable could not explain with maps alone. The forest remained the same, the wind remained the same, and the scent of pine still carried clean through the trees, yet there was a pressure in the air that made every patrol step feel like it landed on a surface that might crack. Wolves who were used to silence moved with sharper care. Scouts returned more often with reports that said little on paper and everything in the pauses between words.
