*CHAPTER 51:
ALESSIA
Morning came without a sound, and that was worse than any argument we could have had. The breakfast table, the place where the pack used to laugh, argue and pretend for an hour that the valley wasn’t bleeding, sat between us like a judge waiting for a verdict. No one spoke or looked at anyone else for longer than a second. The porridge in my bowl went cold while three alphas moved food around their plates like they could rearrange the truth if they moved it enough times. I kept my eyes on my hands because if I looked up and saw the way they were all measuring me, measuring each other. I could stand up and walk out and we would lose the fragile thread we’d been clinging to since the Ward-Stone fell silent, but the accord had taught us to stand together against the ou
