RYKER POV
The weight of the Alpha title sat on my shoulders like a crown of iron—not heavy enough to be a burden, but solid enough to remind me of its power. I stood on the balcony of the Tenebrous Alpha’s quarters, overlooking the sprawling land that now belonged to me now. My land. My pack. My rule.
The view was breathtaking—the dense, the dark forest stretched endless into the horizon, the village below bustling as if nothing monumental had happened. As if the bond that had been shed to get here wasn’t still fresh in my mind. The foolish elders, Selenea’s pathetic gullibility—it had all been so easy.
The door behind me creaked open, and I smirked without turning around. Only one person would enter without knocking.
“Your highness,” came the mocking tone of Kade, my best friend and m
