Queen:
The morning sun barely reached the great stone walls of the pack’s fortress, its warmth muted by the thick fog that still clung to the ground. I stood at the balcony of the guest chambers, my hands resting on the carved stone rail, my eyes sweeping over the courtyard below.
It was too quiet. Too still. For a place that had fought off a midnight attack only hours before, the air was wrong. The warriors moved about with practiced efficiency, cleaning weapons, patrolling the grounds—but the tension in their shoulders, the clipped tone of their conversations… they were still holding their breath.
The baby.
That child was the reason I was here. The reason I had left the safety of the palace and crossed dangerous territory to stand among this pack. I had heard whispers of a moon-born
