"You said Keeper," Ariana repeated. "What does that mean exactly."
"Someone entrusted with the true history of the Old Covenant. Not the sanitized version taught in most pack archives, but the full account, passed down through a single bloodline for centuries." Renata's voice had gone quiet, distant. "My mother was chosen for that role before I was even born."
"And you never mentioned this before," Mira said, arriving with the last of the warriors from the beach cleanup.
"Because I hoped I'd never need to." Renata's jaw tightened. "The role comes with danger. Keepers have been hunted before, silenced before. My mother went into hiding decades ago, precisely to avoid becoming a target."
"Do you know where she is," Lucien asked.
"I have an idea. Whether she's still there, whether she's
