(Jake) The sun hung low on the horizon, casting an orange hue over the dense canopy of trees that surrounded our territory. I stood at the edge of a clearing, the familiar scent of pine and earth filling my lungs as I took a moment to gather my thoughts. My name is Jake, and I am the Alpha of the Black Night Pack - a title I carry with both pride and a heavy heart, especially after I rejected my mate, Juriel. There's no reason to why I did it, just for the fact that I was an idiot... a fool. The responsibility of my position weighed on me increasingly each day, especially with the shadows of war looming over us. As I looked out over my pack gathered in the clearing, I felt a swell of determination course through me. They were my family, my blood, and it was my duty to ensure their safet

