Korvin burst through the doors of Maren's chambers, his fur matted with blood and dirt. His remaining wolves stayed outside in the hallway, too terrified to follow him inside. They had seen what happened in that clearing, and none of them wanted to be the ones to deliver the news.
Maren stood at her window, her back to the door. She didn't turn around when Korvin entered.
"You're back earlier than expected," she said, her voice dangerously calm. "Which means something went wrong."
Korvin swallowed hard. In all his years serving Maren, he had never felt this kind of fear. "My queen, I need to report what happened."
"Then report."
He took a breath and began. "The forged letters worked perfectly. The boys turned on each other just as you predicted. Killian believed that Rafe had betrayed them. They stopped fighting as a unit and became vulnerable."
"Good," Maren said. "Continue."
