The first winter without both Alden and Elowen felt longer than the ones before.
Not harsher.
Just quieter.
Snow settled along the southern border in clean white sheets, smoothing the earth where wolves had once argued over lines and ownership. Smoke rose from chimneys in steady spirals, and the pack moved in warm, layered rhythms — working, laughing, living.
But something had shifted.
The pack no longer waited for its heirs to return before making decisions.
They simply made them.
Caleb stood in the council hall, listening as Rowan presented a proposal.
“We should rotate younger wolves into diplomatic visits,” Rowan said. “Not just warriors. Apprentices. Healers. Traders.”
One elder frowned. “Risky.”
Rowan shrugged. “So was everything we’ve done in the past five years.”
Caleb g
