Riven's POV
Marek's camp had grown rougher since the clearing — a hasty collection of tents pitched deep in territory no pack claimed anymore, the particular squalor of people who'd chosen grievance over rebuilding.
He rode in with a small guard, deliberately visible, unwilling to repeat the mistake of appearing to hide behind Mooncrest's strength.
Marek emerged before he'd fully dismounted, flanked by a dozen warriors, weapons already drawn.
"You have nerve," Marek said, "showing your face here after everything."
"I came to talk," Riven said. "Not to fight."
"You came to beg me to stop embarrassing your new family," Marek said, contempt thick in his voice. "The peaceful Shadow Alpha, reformed and domesticated, can't have his old loyalists reminding everyone what he actually was."
"
