Asher's palm kept slipping in mine. He had spent all morning guarding a folded piece of parchment. A crooked gray wolf stood beside a tiny white pup, with *Daddy & Me* written above them in uneven red letters.
It was his fifth birthday. Kael had promised to name him heir before the whole pack, and Asher had talked about the ceremony since the promise was made.
Kael waited on the raised platform in the middle of the pack square. Sunset caught the silver in his dark hair, and his formal Alpha cloak hung from both shoulders. His thumb kept rubbing the jagged scar on his wrist.
For five years, I had covered that scar with my palm until he settled. I knew the ache woke him before a battle and before every difficult speech. When his eyes found me, his hand paused, waiting.
Selene stepped out
