Grimridge did not erupt after the attack. It drew inward and held.
Word moved through the pack house before the blood at the southern storehouse had fully dried, yet it did not spread in the shape of panic. Wolves repeated the facts in low, controlled voices, and the facts were enough.
South Hollow had crossed into Grimridge territory, laid hands on the Alpha's mate, and tried to drag her out breathing. They had not reached the trees. They had not reached the gully. They had not even managed to leave the clearing with their own story intact.
By the time the account reached the upper halls, fury had already found its structure.
Sable refused to disappear inside that response.
The healer worked in one of the upper chambers with the same practical steadiness she always brought to injuries Grimridge preferred not to name too loudly.
