Nothing says "meet the family" like a room full of armed werewolves debating whether to kill you or protect you.
The pack council chamber was nothing like I'd expected — not some medieval throne room, but a long, plain hall with rough-hewn benches and a fire pit at its center, packed wall to wall with wolves who'd clearly dropped whatever they'd been doing the moment word of the Viper declaration reached them. Killian had walked me in himself, one hand steady at my back, though I noticed he stayed close to the door, like some part of him expected he might need to get me out fast.
The air itself felt charged, thick with the particular tension of a room full of people who'd rather be doing anything except sitting through this conversation. I recognized a few faces from that first dinner we
