The air was thick with tension, sharper than the edge of any blade we could wield. The pack was restless. Whispers floated through the corridors like smoke, some filled with awe, others laced with doubt. News of my lineage — the truth that I was of Moonblood descent — had spread faster than wildfire, igniting something wild and unpredictable within everyone.
I stood near the hearth in the great hall, where Elias and the council had gathered, their faces serious as the flames danced shadows across their features. The weight of expectation pressed down on me harder than ever before.
Elias’s voice cut through the murmur like a blade. “This war will come whether we want it or not. We need to be ready.” His eyes landed on me, and for a moment, everything else faded.
“Are you ready?” he asked
