The pack gathered at moonrise.
They came because they were summoned but more than that, they came because the air itself demanded it. Wolves lined the stone terraces overlooking the inner ring, bodies tense, senses sharp.
Something was about to be decided.
Seraphine stood at the edge of the circle, chains still at her wrists, posture calm but alert. She could feel the tension rolling off the pack in waves—fear, anger, curiosity, jealousy.
And beneath it all…
Anticipation.
Lucien emerged from the Alpha hall dressed in black, shoulders bare, the mark of Nightfall carved across his skin like a warning. Moonlight caught in his dark hair, silvering it just slightly.
The murmurs died instantly.
His wolf rose close to the surface, power bleeding into the space. The ground itself seemed to
