The demon showed up early.
Not attacking, just watching from the tree line at the eastern border where the pack's territory met unclaimed forest, and when the scout reported back everyone's panic spiked through the bonds loud enough to wake me from dead sleep.
I was in the training yard ten minutes later with wet hair and no breakfast and the kind of adrenaline spike that made my hands shake, watching Kael coordinate scouts while Riven checked weapons and Draven laid out tactical maps and Thorne just stood at the edge of the clearing staring toward the border with those amber eyes that had gone feral.
"How long has it been there?" My voice came out steadier than I felt.
"Twenty minutes." Marcus appeared at my elbow. "Just watching. Not moving."
"Why would it do that?"
"Testing." Draven didn't look up from his map. "Seeing how we react. How prepared we are. How much of a threat you actually pose."
Me. It was watching to see what I could do.
