The rain had stopped by dawn, leaving behind a heavy stillness that clung to the air like fog. The packhouse was quiet — too quiet — as Alpha Caelum Thorne stood on the balcony of his study, watching the mist curl over the forest below.
He hadn’t slept. Not since the council’s summons had arrived in the dead of night.
Come alone.
The letter had been sealed with the insignia of the Moon Council — a crescent moon pierced by a blade. Only one man used that seal.
Elder Rowan.
Caelum’s jaw tightened as he reread the note in his hand. There was a time he would’ve trusted the council blindly. The Trials had been sacred — proof of an Alpha’s worth. But after what happened inside the Temptation Trial, that trust had turned to ash.
Something had gone wrong that day. Something no one wanted to
