Ten years after zone designation, Morgan turned nineteen.
She stood at the academy podium, delivering her graduation speech to 200 students. Sera watched from the audience, feeling time collapse—her daughter. Almost grown. Speaking with confidence, Sera had never possessed at that age.
“We’re the first generation raised after the split,” Morgan said. “We grew up knowing integration zones exist and knowing that some wolves choose merger and others choose autonomy. This is normal to us. Not tragedy. Not a crisis. Just reality.”
The audience—half from Silvercrest, half from allied integration-free territories—listened with the particular attention young wolves gave to peers rather than authorities.
“My mother’s generation fought integration. Feared it. Saw it as an existential threat. We
