A week before…

A week before…

Lucius POV

The fight had been raging for almost twenty-four hours. Every second felt like a lifetime. I stood at the edge of the pack house, my eyes scanning the horizon, searching for something—anything—that could make sense of the chaos surrounding us.

It wasn't just the bloodshed or the sound of claws ripping through the night. No, this was different. It had begun with something that seemed so small, so innocuous, yet now it had spiralled into something much worse. Our communication lines had gone dead. All at once, every single one of them. We were cut off from the outside world, with no way to call for reinforcements or even contact neighbouring allies.

The airports were grounded. Our trading routes were blocked. It was as if someone had reached in and flipped a switch, pulling us into a war before we had a chance to react.