The grand hall of Frostfang Pack was just as Ava remembered—cold stone floors, banners lined in silver and blue, and the faint scent of pine smoke drifting from the hearth. But where warmth should have lived, there was only the echo of her past.
Riley came toward them first, her smile stretched and polished like a blade. Her hands rested on the small curve of her stomach — pregnant, glowing in the way someone glows when they know eyes are on them. “Your Majesty, Your Grace,” she greeted with a graceful bow. “We’re honored to have you both here. It’s been too long.”
Ava’s gaze lingered for a heartbeat on her cousin’s belly, then lifted back to her face. “It has,” she said quietly. Her tone was steady, but her fingers brushed against the hem of her sleeve, a nervous, almost invisible gestu
