Night had settled over the Silverfang territory, but sleep had not reached the Alpha’s lodge. A single lantern burned inside Ryker’s study. The light spread across maps and scattered reports that covered the large wooden table in the center of the room. Patrol routes, council messages, and border updates lay stacked in uneven piles.
Ryker had not looked at any of them for the past hour. He stood near the window, staring into the dark forest beyond the territory.
The council’s threat still echoed in his mind. If he refused to enforce the Rite of Blood Judgment, they would move to remove him as Alpha, and if he obeyed the law, Mira would die.
The door behind him opened quietly.
Ryker knew who it was before he turned. “You should be resting,” he said.
Mira stepped inside and closed the d
