The morning air was cold enough to bite, but the sky over Libby was streaked in gold when the convoy rolled out. Two pickup trucks and an old flatbed, loaded with crates of salt, cloth, and sealed jars, made their way south on Highway 2. The pine forest swallowed the road, needles whispering in the wind like old secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane sat in the front passenger seat of the lead truck beside Hank Ward. The Sheriff\u2019s worn leather hat sat low over his brow, eyes on the cracked pavement ahead. Marta Hale rode in back, arms crossed, reviewing a small folder of trade notes she\u2019d handwritten in tidy blue ink. Behind her, Mark\u2019s laptop was lashed to a small solar battery, humming quietly as he tracked their position on an old offline map. Gabriel sat on the tailgate, his paws dangling, guitar slung over his shoulder like it belonged there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one spoke much. Every mission south was a gamble \u2014 the further from Libby, the less people you could trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They arrived at Thompson Falls just after noon. The town was smaller than Libby, built along the riverbank where the dam still rose like a fossil of the old world. Water still flowed through two of the turbines, enough to give the place a steady hum of power \u2014 and a sense of self-importance. They had lights in their windows. A rare thing, these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A wooden sign at the edge of town read \u201cThompson Falls Welcomes You.\u201d<\/strong> Someone had painted over the word welcomes<\/em> three times \u2014 first in red, then black, then blue \u2014 as if they couldn\u2019t decide what they really meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the convoy pulled into the center square, the townsfolk stopped what they were doing. Every eye followed the trucks. It wasn\u2019t the sight of strangers that froze them \u2014 it was you<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first werewolf most of them had ever seen stepped down from the truck like it was the most normal thing in the world. Brown-gray fur catching the light, broad-shouldered, ice-blue eyes cutting through dust. Thane adjusted his pack straps and waited. Gabriel hopped down next, black fur and easy grin masking the sharpness beneath, tail flicking once in amusement at the stunned faces. Mark followed more quietly, his gray-white fur and mild expression making him look like the most approachable of the three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, no one approached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, a man emerged from the doorway of what used to be a caf\u00e9 \u2014 tall, thin, maybe late forties, with a nervous half-smile. He wore a leather coat that was too new and boots too clean. \u201cAfternoon,\u201d he said, voice tight. \u201cI\u2019m Mayor Lorne. I heard Libby was sending a trade envoy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marta stepped forward, hand extended. \u201cWe\u2019re here to discuss fair exchange,\u201d she said warmly. \u201cNails, salt, canned goods, water filters \u2014 what we can spare, and what you can offer in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne shook her hand, but his gaze kept darting back to Thane. \u201cAnd\u2026 you brought protection?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane\u2019s voice was gravel wrapped in calm. \u201cProtection\u2019s what keeps trade honest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That drew a twitch of the mayor\u2019s lip \u2014 not quite a smile, not quite fear. He gestured toward a shaded awning beside the square. \u201cPlease. Sit. We\u2019ll talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group followed, taking places at a rough wooden table. Gabriel leaned his guitar against a chair and cracked open a canteen. Mark set down his tablet, still scanning quietly for radio signals \u2014 habit, not suspicion. Or so he told himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne and his aides brought out their offer sheets. \u201cWe\u2019ve got fish,\u201d he said. \u201cJerky, rope, and some spare generator parts from the mill. Nothing fancy, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane interrupted softly. \u201cYou\u2019ve got fuel drums by your gate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne blinked. \u201cA few. For emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMore like for convoys,\u201d Thane said. \u201cSaw the tire tracks. Wide treads, heavy loadouts. Military, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aides exchanged glances. One of them swallowed. Marta kept her voice polite. \u201cYou\u2019ve had visitors, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust passing through,\u201d Lorne said too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark\u2019s tablet pinged once \u2014 a faint residual signal. A handheld radio nearby, set to a frequency that didn\u2019t match Thompson Falls\u2019s public band. He caught Thane\u2019s eye and gave the smallest nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane turned back to the mayor. \u201cI\u2019m going to ask this plain. You got people coming through here taking what they want, or making promises you shouldn\u2019t have accepted?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The silence said everything. Even the wind seemed to stop between the rusted streetlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne\u2019s shoulders sagged. \u201cWe were told to watch Libby,\u201d he admitted at last. \u201cThey came two weeks ago \u2014 said if we told them when your supply trucks ran, we\u2019d be left alone. They called themselves the \u2018River Division.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hank muttered a curse under his breath. \u201cRaiders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot just raiders,\u201d Mark said, scrolling through faint telemetry. \u201cThey\u2019re organized. Frequency encryption, coded pulses every thirty minutes. That\u2019s a network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane leaned forward, claws tapping once against the tabletop \u2014 not a threat, just punctuation. \u201cYou were going to sell us out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne flinched. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know who you had down there! They said you were\u2026 dangerous. That you\u2019d take over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel chuckled, low and dry. \u201cAnd you thought they<\/em> wouldn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marta\u2019s tone was soft but cutting. \u201cYou realize if they\u2019d come north, they\u2019d have taken more than food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne\u2019s eyes darted between the wolves again \u2014 the quiet power in Thane\u2019s posture, the faint glow of Gabriel\u2019s gaze, Mark\u2019s calm, unblinking patience. They weren\u2019t men pretending to be wolves. They were wolves pretending to be men \u2014 and that was somehow worse. And better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stood, slow and deliberate. The mayor followed suit without meaning to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou want to make this right,\u201d Thane said, \u201cthen here\u2019s how it goes. You\u2019ll share what you know about these raiders \u2014 where they move, how they signal. We\u2019ll make sure they never reach Libby. In return, you\u2019ll get the trade you asked for \u2014 honest and open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne hesitated. \u201cAnd if they come back?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane\u2019s eyes locked on his. \u201cThen tell them you met us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mayor nodded quickly. \u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marta extended her hand again. \u201cThen it\u2019s settled. Libby and Thompson Falls \u2014 trade allies, not enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorne shook her hand, more firmly this time, though his gaze still flickered to Thane like he wasn\u2019t sure whether to bow or breathe. The rest of the meeting went quickly. Lists were exchanged, delivery routes marked, and one of the aides promised to deliver their spare generator belts by next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the convoy finally rolled out again, the townspeople stood quietly watching, lined along the street like witnesses to something ancient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel leaned back in the truck bed, tail flicking lazily. \u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cthat went better than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDepends how you define \u2018better,\u2019\u201d Mark replied. \u201cHalf that town looked ready to faint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stared out the window, the reflection of the fading sun caught in his pale eyes. \u201cGood. Let them be afraid. Fear\u2019s honest \u2014 it keeps them from lying again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hank chuckled from behind the wheel. \u201cRemind me not to play poker with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWouldn\u2019t be fair,\u201d Gabriel said with a grin. \u201cHe can smell the bluff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The road north wound through pines and evening mist, the sound of tires on gravel like steady breathing. Behind them, Thompson Falls was smaller now, but wiser \u2014 a town that had seen the monsters guarding Libby and realized that friendship was easier than war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the stars began to prick the horizon, Marta looked back one last time at the faint lights by the river. \u201cThink they\u2019ll keep their word?\u201d she asked quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane didn\u2019t answer right away. The forest whispered around them, alive with crickets and memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey will,\u201d he said finally. \u201cBecause they\u2019ve seen what waits if they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The morning air was cold enough to bite, but the sky over Libby was streaked in gold when the convoy rolled out. Two pickup trucks and an old flatbed, loaded with crates of salt, cloth, and sealed jars, made their way south on Highway 2. The pine forest swallowed the road, needles whispering in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-world-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2551"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3475,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551\/revisions\/3475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/afterthefall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}