THE CHOICE
Dawn came in grey and cold and exact.
The pack gathered in the old clearing without being summoned. They simply came the way they always did when something mattered, drawn by instinct, by trust, by the quiet pull of something larger than themselves about to shift.
Forty-seven wolves.
Every member of Silverwood was present and accounted for, except the two who had already made their choices elsewhere.
Della stood at the centre with the ceremony text in her hands.
Roger stood beside me.
His hand found mine without hesitation.
I looked out at the faces of the pack people I had known my whole life, people I was still learning, and one specific red-haired person in the front who was already crying and doing absolutely nothing to hide it.
“Mia,” I said softly.
“I’m fine,” sh
