Kiera’s POV
Dawn crept in slow and bruised, bleeding pale light through the trees like the world was afraid to look directly at us.
No one slept.
The packs stayed at the edge of the clearing, a careful distance that felt less like fear and more like reverence. Wolves paced. Alphas whispered. Old rivalries held their breath under the new, terrible truth: a child stood at the center of everything they thought they understood.
Kai sat between my knees, wrapped in my jacket, the crown resting on the ground in front of him like it might bite if touched too suddenly. The glow had faded to a soft pulse, steady as a heartbeat.
Every time it flickered, the forest listened.
I brushed my thumb over the faint dirt smudge on his cheek. He leaned into the touch automatically, still my baby despite
