The council fire burned long after sunset. Torches lined the stone courtyard outside the council hall, and nearly every Silverfang wolf had gathered to witness the emergency assembly. The events of the day had already shaken the pack, but the announcement that the elders intended to invoke ancient law had drawn even the most distant patrols back to the center of the territory.
The air felt thick with expectation, and Ryker entered the courtyard without an escort; his presence alone forced the murmuring crowd to quiet slightly. Even the wolves who had begun questioning his authority still felt the instinctive pull of the Alpha bond.
Mira followed a few steps behind him.
The bandage wrapped around her shoulder pressed tightly against the wound, but the healer had insisted that she could w
