The security assessment took six days.
Sarah ran it with the same methodical precision she brought to everything, working with two of her most reliable scouts to build a current picture of Crest's operational position in Ironmoor territory. She was looking for three specific things: his physical location within the pack, the extent of his remaining influence over Ironmoor's internal structures after Brennan's recovery, and the wolves he was still running as active assets.
The picture that emerged was more encouraging than Kendrick had expected.
Crest had contracted. In the weeks since Seraphina's visit, his visible footprint in Ironmoor territory had reduced significantly, the security presence around the central compound thinned, the movement patterns of the wolves Sarah had identified as his assets becoming less frequent and less coordinated. Some had left Ironmoor territory entirely.
