Beneath the Ashes
(Rowan’s POV)
The wind tasted of frost and old pine.
Rowan stood alone on the ridge above the valley, where the first snow had not yet melted, and the trees thinned just enough for the wind to speak. It howled through the cliffs like a spirit mourning things long buried.
He let it pass through him.
Like it could scour out the guilt.
But the ache remained.
Beneath the triumph of unity, beneath the reforms and celebrations—beneath even Caleb’s love—Rowan carried a quiet weight. One no one else could see. One he’d kept locked behind the steel of responsibility.
Until now.
The pack was thriving.
The young wolves Caleb trained were beginning to mentor others. Old rivalries had softened into laughter. Council meetings ended in consensus more often than not.
But Rowan
