As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the city in an eerie twilight, a cold, unsettling quiet settled over the streets. The citizens of the once-thriving metropolis moved cautiously, their eyes darting to every shadow, afraid of what might lurk within. Whispers of William's brutal reign had spread like wildfire, each tale more horrifying than the last.
Inside the Shadow Wolves' stronghold, Stella, Bryan, and Ethan regrouped, trying to catch their breath after the battle in the courtyard. Bryan, still nursing his wounds from the fight with Kade, leaned against a stone pillar, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"We have their help," he muttered. "But it won't be enough. William's gotten too powerful."
Stella paced back and forth, her mind racing. "We have to be smarter about this. If we go in guns blazing, we'll be dead before we even reach him."
