Dante
The bar was too quiet.
That silence wasn’t peace—it was the weight of something pressing in from every direction, like the whole damn town was holding its breath. My wolves felt it too. The way they moved, restless and sharp, every laugh a little forced, every glance darting to the shadows. WHO’s announcement had cracked the ground beneath us. It wasn’t whispers anymore. It was war.
And I hated it. Not the war—war I could stomach. I knew how to bleed, how to take, how to bury my enemies until their names were forgotten. But this? WHO declaring open hostility, daring to step into our town, daring to throw their shadow across Ashridge like they owned it? It wasn’t just war. It was a challenge. A slap in the face.
And worse, it made me suspicious of everyone.
I stood at the head of
