Chapter 5 First Encounter

Rain woke before the city did.

The air was heavy with mist, coating the narrow streets in a thin sheen of dew. Her limbs protested as she sat up, sore from the hard pavement and curled posture she had slept in. The cold had crept into her bones during the night, and the thin coat that barely reached her knees did little to hold it out.

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing dirt across her cheek. Her breath puffed into the morning, white and fleeting. Her belly grumbled, but the ache had become familiar. Almost comforting, in its constancy.

She stood and stretched, her bones cracking in quiet rebellion. The bakery's back door was still closed-no scent of bread yet. She didn't wait. She turned and moved toward the edge of the alley, peeking out into the street as if expecting the world to meet her with something new.

It didn't.

The market would be waking soon. The vendors would be setting up their stalls, shouting prices and sweeping away the dust. It was too early to beg, too early to find sympathy in anyone's eyes. Still, she walked.

Today felt different. Not better. Just heavier.

As she passed the old cinema, she noticed something-or someone-just beyond the cracked posters. A figure. Still. Watching. Her chest tightened. She blinked, and the figure was gone.

Her mind must have been playing tricks on her. That happened sometimes. When she was too tired, too hungry. Her head would spin with shadows. But as she kept walking, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone had, in fact, been there.

She picked up her pace.

Elsewhere, far from the chaos of the city's underbelly, a chamber deep beneath the forest canopy buzzed with urgency. The wolf clan had gathered again. The Council sat in a crescent, their expressions carved from stone. Flame-lit shadows flickered across the stone walls of the meeting hall, as whispers filled the space.

A lone voice spoke louder than the rest.

"We have waited long enough," said Elder Klye, his silver-streaked hair falling past his shoulders. "The Austins cannot remain hidden forever. They know too much."

A younger warrior, lean and tense, stepped forward. "With all due respect, we don't even know if the Austins are alive. The trail goes cold each time we send scouts."

"Then find a warmer trail," Klye growled. "We cannot let this go on. We gave them mercy once. That was our mistake."

The High Guard, a special squad trained in silence and shadow, were summoned that night. Their leader, Captain Lioren, stood with arms folded, eyes dark with resolve.

"What are our boundaries?" Lioren asked.

Klye's gaze narrowed. "No boundaries. Find them. Bring them back. Dead or alive."

Back in the city, Rain's day unfolded like every other. Hours dragged by. People passed. A man dropped a coin into her palm without looking her way. A small act of kindness or guilt-she didn't know which.

She used it to buy a stale bun, eating it slowly in a quiet corner near the canal. Her feet dangled over the edge, toes just above the water's surface. She watched the ripples, letting her thoughts wander like the river's current.

The world didn't seem cruel here. Just tired.

As night fell again, she made her way back toward the alley. But as she turned a familiar corner, she froze.

Two men stood in the alley. Not police. Not from around here.

She ducked behind a dumpster, holding her breath. They spoke in low voices-too far for her to hear. Her heart thudded in her chest. One of the men sniffed the air, his eyes scanning the shadows.

Rain inched away slowly, her hands trembling. A bottle toppled behind her. The noise cracked through the silence like thunder.

"You hear that?"

Rain didn't wait. She ran.

She didn't look back until she'd reached the next street over. Her lungs burned. Her mind raced.

She didn't know why, but something had changed.

What it is, she didn't know but she surely knew thing had changed