By midmorning, the courtyard looked different, and nothing had moved. It was the way wolves stood. Yesterday, they were a crowd held together by rage and habit. Today, they were a pack again. Shoulders squared, eyes up, a hush that wasn’t fear but attention. I stood before them, no chains, no collar. I stood before them as their Alpha. It was time to get things moving. Yesterday had been a long day. Today was a new beginning.
“I’m not Thomas,” I said, and the words landed like a promise. “No more speeches to make you small. No more fear to keep you quiet. You are Darkspire, and you are still here. So am I. And now…now it’s time we rebuild,” a rumble went through them. Approval, not thunder. Kody stood near the front with the guards, chin lifted but not proud. Amy and her parents were a t
