Kane
The pack hall felt suffocating. Hundreds of wolves watched, their excited murmurs blending into a dull roar that threatened to consume me. My muscles were tight, every movement calculated. One wrong gesture, and everything we'd planned would crumble.
Play the part, Shadow whispered in my mind. Protect her.
Crystal stood beside me, her hand strategically placed on her stomach - a visual reminder of the heir she claimed to carry. Her triumph was palpable, radiating from every pore. Elder Marcus's voice boomed through the hall, announcing our "fated" mating, and I forced myself to maintain a neutral expression.
They can't know, I thought to Shadow. They can't suspect anything.
My wolf growled internally, a sound of pure frustration. We both knew the truth. This was a performance. A
