The night stretched endlessly. I lay in Duke's bed, staring at the ceiling while he held me, neither of us sleeping. Through the windows, I could see lights on in cabins across the sanctuary- everyone was awake, waiting, worrying.
"What if they shut us down?" I whispered into the darkness.
Duke's arms tightened around me. "Then we fight."
"How? If the Council orders it-"
"Then we defy them." His voice was quiet but absolute. "I won't send these wolves back to their abusers, Willow. I won't do it. Even if it means losing my Alpha status, losing Council recognition, losing everything."
I turned to face him, searching his eyes in the moonlight. "You'd go rogue? For this?"
"For them. For you. For what's right." He cupped my face gently. "Some things are worth losing everything for. This
