The pack house throbbed with a frenetic energy, the bass of the music vibrating through Elara's bones. Colored lights pulsed across the room, painting lurid streaks across the faces of the revelers. Tonight, Damon was in his element, the master of ceremonies in a spectacle of his own making. He'd declared it a celebration of a "successfully closed deal," but pack members knew it was about the handsome sum he'd squeezed out of the crown prince for the training facility. Elara knew the truth, of course. It was a victory bought and paid for with her clandestine meetings with Kaelen, a truth she held close, a burning secret in her heart.
The air hung thick with the scent of cheap beer and potent pheromones. Pack members, dressed in their finest party attire, mingled and swayed to the music. E
