Following their extraction from the Louisiana bayou in July 2017, the Winters were not simply released. They were "Assets of Interest" for both the BSAA and the clandestine Hound Wolf unit led by Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. The arrival of February 2021 marked the end of the Winters’ domestic illusion. While Ethan and Mia tried to build a life in the snowy reaches of Eastern Europe, they were the center of a silent, three-way cold war between the Hound Wolf Squad, the BSAA, and the ancient cult of Mother Miranda.

| Date | Event | Atmosphere | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Feb 2 | The Milestone | Rose’s half-birthday. A brief moment of joy before the shadows close in. | | Feb 6 | The Fracture | A bitter argument erupts. Ethan admits he still feels "trapped" in the Baker house. | | Feb 8 | The Fairy Tale | Ethan reads The Village of Shadows. Miranda (as Mia) acts cold and demanding. | | Feb 9, 20:00| The Extraction | Jill and Chris arrive. The Winters are moved to the Hound Wolf HQ. | | Feb 10, 01:00| The Ambush | The HQ is breached. Ethan is separated from the squad during the convoy transit. |

• The Lingering Ghost: Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling that his life was a construction. On February 6th, the fight turned ugly. He accused Mia of wanting to forget Raccoon City and Dulvey, while he felt the Mold humming in his bones every night.
• The Fairy Tale: On the night of the 8th, Ethan hesitated to read the dark local folklore, The Village of Shadows, to Rose. "Mia" snapped at him, her voice devoid of its usual warmth, commanding him to take the baby upstairs.

Dinner was interrupted not by a knock, but by a command. The door was thrown open, and there stood the legends: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Their presence meant the perimeter had failed. They ordered him to follow them to their stronghold. Ethan didn't hesitate. He trusted Jill and Chris; they were the architects of his survival. Mia, however, looked terrified—not of the soldiers, but of the exposure. They were loaded into armored SUVs and raced through the winding mountain passes to the Hound Wolf Headquarters, a fortified bunker hidden in the crags.

At the headquarters, the air was thick with tactical urgency. Chris pulled Ethan aside for a private briefing, his face grim. But before the first word could be spoken, the mountain shook.

1. The Attack: Mother Miranda’s "Lords" launched a kinetic strike. The power flickered, and the sound of rending metal echoed through the halls.
2. The Separation: In the chaos, Jill ordered the "High-Value Assets"—Ethan and Rose—into a secondary convoy. "Where’s Mia?" Ethan screamed, but he was shoved into the back of a black transport as the doors slammed shut.
3. The Crash: The convoy never made it to the secondary site. A massive force—later revealed to be Uryas, the Lycan King—slammed into the lead vehicle. Ethan’s world spun into darkness as the transport flipped, sliding across the frozen road.

Ethan woke to the smell of gasoline and the bite of sub-zero air. The armored glass was shattered. Beside him, the Hound Wolf guards lay in the snow, their throats torn open with animalistic savagery. A phone hissed with static in the snow. Ethan grabbed it, his voice a panicked rasp. A voice on the other end—distorted and frantic—tried to give him coordinates, but the signal died with a sharp electronic pop. The fear was there, but so was the muscle memory. Ethan reached into the tactical crate in the wreckage, pulling out a handgun. He remembered Jill’s voice from their training sessions. He followed a trail that looked like a butcher’s floor—blood sprayed against the white snow and the carcasses of horses torn to shreds. The trail led him to a small, rotting shack. Inside, he found nothing but old secrets and the lingering scent of woodsmoke. As he emerged from the other side of the shack, the trees thinned. Below him lay the Village—a cluster of jagged stone houses and a looming, gothic castle. It was silent.