Denver.
I left the dining hall without looking back.
Not because I didn’t care.
Because I couldn’t afford to.
The elders were already waiting in the upper chambers. I could feel it in the stillness of the halls, in the way the guards stood straighter as I passed. Word always moved faster than footsteps in a pack house like this.
My hands were clasped behind my back, my expression neutral. Inside, I was already bracing for the questions I knew would come.
The chamber doors were open.
The elders were waiting. Not openly hostile, just patient. Their attention was a slow weight pressing down on me.
Five elders sat in a half-circle. The oldest sat in the center. White hair. Sharp eyes. A presence that carried weight without noise.
I stepped inside.
The doors closed behind me.
“Alpha,
