Elara's POV
In the ashes of the Heartwood, the Council of Alphas had just began. There was no grand hall. We stood in the clearing, surrounded by the disgusting scent of blood and smoke, warriors from three packs tending their wounded members and burning the twisted corpses of the corrupted.
Selene of the Silvermane, Jethro of the Stormfang, and Lucian stood in the center. I stood in their midst, the golden thread to Lucian a visible marker of why we were all here.
“They burn sanctuaries,” Jethro growled, his voice raw. “They make monsters of our own kin. This is not a war for territory. It is a war for our souls….every single on of us.”
“Ezekiel is their thinker,” Lucian said, his arm bandaged where a corrupted shifter’s teeth had made a feast. “But he answers to someone. A leader. We
