Before the Slaughter

Gideon POV

The first thing I noticed when I crossed into Stanhope territory was that something was wrong.

It wasn't the usual quiet of a pack preparing for nightfall or the uneasy stillness that came before a storm.

This was chaos. Wolves were running between buildings with bundles in their arms, wagons stood in the middle of the main road with their wheels already loaded, children were being hurr