Chapter 96: Threads in the Dark
The wounded wolf from the patrol didn't die. He lay in a med-pod, his body knit together by the silent, efficient work of Unified technology, but his eyes held a hollow, distant look. The shock of the ambush, the sudden, clinical efficiency of the attack—it had been more like a culling than a fight. The Mountain's first blood had been spilled not in glorious battle, but in a cynical, deniable strike.
Ronan left at dawn with his team: two Silverfang veterans, a Southern scout for subtlety, and, at Kael's specific instruction, a young, sharp-eyed Crimson Paw warrior named Rask. The inclusion was a message to Grynn and a test for the Crimson Paw's new role. They carried a formal scroll of condemnation drafted by Elias with Nabil's input—legalese wrapped around a core of steel. They also carried a portable med-kit and a single, gleaming shield emitter, set to non-lethal demonstration mode.
