Kael's manipulations continued, pushing Mara's forces into more aggressive and coordinated attacks. River Pine and its allies found themselves constantly fending off raids, their resources strained. Elara, now more adept at discerning Kael's mental influence, recognized his tactics: creating discord, exploiting weaknesses, and slowly isolating pack territories. The gathering storm was intensifying, and Kael's ultimate target seemed to be River Pine itself, recognizing Elara's unique abilities as the greatest threat to his plans.
Maddox, however, was not easily rattled. He strengthened their defenses, called upon every ounce of loyalty from his pack, and continued to send aid to his allies, preventing Kael from fully isolating them. He relied heavily on Elara's insights, her ability to predict Kael's probable moves, to counter his insidious strategies. They knew a direct confrontation with Kael was inevitable, but they needed time – time for Elara's birth pack to arrive, time to truly understand the full scope of Kael's power, and time to prepare for the true war for the future of all shifters.