Ariana's POV
Standing among the other candidates felt different than I expected.
I had grown up watching leadership training from a distance, hearing my father describe it in careful, measured terms over dinner, but I had never once imagined myself standing on these grounds as a participant rather than a spectator. The morning air carried a chill that had not yet burned off, and around me, candidates from twenty-three packs shifted with the particular restlessness of people trying to appear calm while their instincts screamed otherwise.
I understood that feeling better than most of them realized.
My father's voice carried easily across the training field when he finally stepped forward to address us, his presence commanding attention without needing to raise his volume. I had heard him
