Denver.
I was heading back to my room that evening when a guard intercepted me.
“Alpha… your mother would like to see you in the sitting room,” he said.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to wipe away the fatigue that had settled into my bones after the endless meetings, the elders’ scrutiny, and the unrelenting weight of the pack.
“Now?” I muttered, voice low. “It’s been a long day… tell her I’ll be there in a moment.”
The guard shook his head. “She insisted, Alpha. She says it’s important.”
I let out a long, quiet sigh. “Important… of course it is.” I squared my shoulders. “Fine.”
----
I found her in the sitting room, as I had expected.
My mother reclined in the large chair by the window, the sunlight catching her pale hair and casting shadows across her sharp features. Her
