STEFAN MONTESSORI
Something or someone has to give way
They were whispering again.
I could hear it in the silence. The way the pack moved around me now… quietly, carefully. Not with the respect I used to demand, but with a sort of… restraint, like they were holding something back.
Fear was still there. Yes. But it was no longer the kind that made them bow. It was the kind that made them keep their distance.
I stood at the balcony of my chambers, watching two of the younger wolves spar in the yard below. Their movements were clumsy, distracted. I saw one of them glance up at me, then quickly look away.
My fists tightened at my sides.
“Cowards,” I muttered.
“You called for me, Alpha?” came a voice behind me.
I turned. It was Jered, my new third-in-command.
“Where’s Miro?”
“He’s s
