A week after Caelum's visit, they came again.
This time, there was no warning. No scout reports. No tracks or markers left in deliberate patterns. They simply appeared at dusk, three figures standing at the eastern border as if they'd been carved from the twilight itself. One moment the ridge was empty, the next they were there, as natural as shadows lengthening across snow.
"Alpha," Marcus appeared at my door, breathing hard. His face was flushed from running, chest heaving. "The vampires. At the border. They're requesting formal audience."
I'd known this was coming. Had spent the week preparing: fortifying defenses with additional barriers, drilling warriors until they moved as one unit, trying to decide what concessions I could make and which I'd die defending. The den had become a hive of constant activity, everyone preparing for an encounter we'd hoped to delay.
But I'd hoped for more time.
"How many?" I asked, already moving toward my weapons belt hanging by the door.
