**Scene: Flashback – Asher’s POV**
It had rained that morning.
The scent of damp earth still clung to the stones as Asher stood at the edge of the Moon Room, silent, watchful. He was younger then—barely out of his first shift—but Thane had brought him anyway, told him to listen, *not just with your ears, but with your spine*.
The old wolves were seated in a loose circle around the firepit, its flame more for ceremony than warmth. A dozen voices, some murmuring, some sharp, had filled the room for the last hour.
But now it was quiet.
Because Thane Nightshade was speaking.
“As wolves,” Thane said, standing with his arms folded behind his back, “we are guardians of a wildness the world forgets. We are strength, yes—but we are not savagery.”
Some nodded. Others shifted, uneasy.
“Our an
