Harold's POV
I sat alone in my office, staring at the whiskey in my glass like it held answers.
It didn't.
The council hearing had been a disaster. Christian won. Again. Sophie's sanctuary decision was upheld. Again. Tom was humiliated. Again.
I downed the whiskey in one burning gulp.
Decades. I'd spent decades building Shadow Ridge into what it was. I'd made the hard decisions. I'd eliminated the weak. I'd created a pack that other Alphas feared and respected.
And my son—my pathetic, soft-hearted son—was destroying everything I'd built.
The door opened without a knock. I didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"You look like someone who just lost everything," Vanessa said, her voice smooth as silk and twice as dangerous.
"I didn't lose," I said, pouring ano
