The dark wooden door closed behind Helena with a soft click, leaving behind the charged air of the entrance and the tension with Milo and Claire. The inside of the pack house enveloped her in the scent of wood and leather. The hallway, lit by wrought-iron lamps, led her to the central wing, where the walls were adorned with the ancient banners of Moon’s Watch: the howling wolf under the moon, intertwined oak branches, her father’s crest.
Helena’s heartbeat quickened as she crossed the threshold into the study, the very place where her father had made so many decisions for his people, where she had learned to read maps and accounts, to listen to the elders' counsel, to hold her head high even when everything seemed to be falling apart.
Now, that place belonged to Agus.
He was there, stan
