The joint announcement of the northern passes had been public for two weeks when Brennan sent word that Crest had left Ironmoor territory entirely.
The message came through Hessa on a Tuesday morning, decoded by Vera at her desk with the focused attention she brought to all correspondence that mattered. It was brief and factual, the way Brennan's messages had become now that the coded language was no longer necessary, a direct account of what had happened.
Crest had departed six days earlier, taking the three wolves he had retained from his original operation and moving north through the passes that he had spent twelve months reopening. He had not been stopped. Brennan had made the decision not to stop him, a decision the message explained with the clarity of an Alpha who had thought it through carefully and was presenting his reasoning for assessment rather than approval.
Vera read the reasoning twice.
