CHAPTER 158

CHAPTER 158
The Retreat Before the Storm

The crunch of snow beneath Joel's boots as he walked in front of his men, the frost-lipped and biting air. From behind came silence now, scattered with the icy remains of blood and the corpses of dead scouts. The ambush caught them off guard. inhuman strength and glowing eyes. wild wolves. Joel fought through the chaos. This wasn't a war. This was a message.

They were not attempting to win, he growled, wiping at the blood on his jaw.

Lynk limped alongside him, arms crossed over his chest, face set in a scowl. "We were bait. They were testing us. how quickly we'd move, how hard we'd hit."

Joel did not react. He already understood.

The forest lay open before them. Joel raised his hand and his companions halted. He searched about him. The pine trunks stood above them white-crested and swaying under the breeze like a sigh from the underworld. No enemies here. not yet. And yet evil hung on the bark in a smell old and loathsome.

"We retreat to the Hollow." He sounded as hard as steel. "Rally and re-approach. Stronger we'll be."

One of the younger wolves, Vale, sighed in relief. "With all due respect, Alpha. what if they're already planning their next attack?"

He stared at him intensely with his icy eyes.

They exist

Vale winced. Lynk scowled next to

Joel kept on moving. "They were probing our stamina. Now they've learned we're not so easy to beat. They also got a glimpse of hesitation."

Lynk's smile dropped. "Do you think they intentionally stalled?"

They agreed. "We advanced slowly on our flank. They expected us to be behind schedule."

"They weren't rogue mutts, then," said Lynk. "They were trained and disciplined."

"Which means they're being planned," Joel said practically. "By a person who knows the country in the north and tactics. Someone who's not young."

Lynk kicked a branch on the path. "So. now what do we do? Mobilize more supporters? Hold a summit?"

"No," Joel replied. "We space them out. Without alerting the rest."

Lynk's brow went up. "You're speaking about a slow drain? Whittle them down a few at a time?"

Joel glanced behind at the small blood trail Vale left in his wake. “Exactly.”

A few quieter steps. And then Lynk added, "You're thinking about her."

At first, Joel did not respond.

"She's at the cabin once more. If this were a warning shot." Lynk did not finish speaking.

Halting, his jaw set hard. "I told the butler not to ever leave her alone."

It won't stop what's on the way," said Lynk. "You realize it."

Joel's hand touched his coat lining, and the small trinket he bought for Emerald, which rested in his pocket. untouched since the attack on him. A delicate object. Unsuitable for the world he returned to.

"I see," Joel said softly.

They climbed the ridge above the snow valley, now a deep red as the sun lowered in the sky. Smoke still rose in the distance. not from combat. but from remnants of ash left from their own campfire. It seemed an omen.

"Alpha," Vale whispered this time around. "Do we report it to the council? Inform them of the enemy's mobilization?"

Joel responded at once. "No. Not yet."

Lynk raised an eyebrow. "Playing at what?"

"I don't trust half of them," Joel growled. "There is someone on the council who already knew about those rogue packs. The attack confirms it."

Your path was disclosed by one of the elders?
I'm telling you, they threw us to the wolves.

He exhaled a soft whistle. "Cold."

"Truth," Joel chided. "We don't have time for being a diplomat."

The group continued on, trudging through the woods toward the fall-back line. Snow slapped at Joel's shoulders and a raven uttered a mournful and desolate screech overhead. Joel's mind wasn't on the path. It was on the cabin. Emerald. The look of quiet fear in her eyes when she believed he wouldn't be able to catch her doing it.

He hadn't told her everything. The war. Lena. The symbols. He did not even know if she would ever forgive him when everything came out.

He was caught off guard by a sudden movement to his right.

Lyn

"I saw it." I already had my hands on a blade.

The shadows persisted but the trees shifted. Two gleaming eyes flickered briefly. and vanished.

"Stalking us," muttered Joel.

More of those

"Once," he said. "Checking again. Checking whether we're changing direction."

Lynk dropped his weapon but his tone was strained. "They're watching our every step."

"Okay," Joel replied. "Show them what you would like them to see."

They proceeded in silence and arrived at the cave far in the face of the rock. the Hollow. Joel waved them in, double-checking their surroundings before entering himself. Inside the cavernous area, the fire caught right away and the aroma of pine and old moss hung in the air.

Finally Joel himself spoke, and the silence hung heavily.

"We don't move until I give the signal," he ordered. "No messengers. No leaks. We operate covertly."

Lynk leaned on the rock. "So. we're the storm now."

Joel didn't smile. "No. We're the silence before it."

He reached down his jacket and pulled out the small, gift-wrapped present he'd brought for Emerald. A wooden wolf figurine, finely crafted and beautiful. He looked at it for a very long time, tracing the outline of it on his thumb.

"Go back to her," whispered Lynk. "Though she might not admit it, she needs you."

He did not glance upward. "Not until I promise this war will not reach her doorstep."

The gale wailed at the Hollow, a mournful and lonely moan. They crackled from the inside and war waited.