The tension didn’t break after Jason spoke.
It only tightened.
Like the forest itself had drawn in a breath and refused to let it out.
The Alpha stared at him for a long moment—measuring, judging, recalculating everything Jason had just said.
Then he laughed.
It wasn’t warm.
It wasn’t amused.
It was sharp.
“You talk like you understand packs now,” the Alpha said. “But you’re still a mistake that learned to stand upright.”
A ripple went through the gathered wolves.
Jason didn’t react.
Not outwardly.
Inside, Dakota shifted—slow, controlled, attentive.
This will not be words anymore, the wolf said.
Jason already knew.
—
The Alpha stepped forward.
“If you want to be part of this pack,” he said, voice lowering, “you take it the way it has always been taken.”
He bared his teeth
