The strategy session ran long into the afternoon, and by the time it finally broke apart, I was exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with lack of sleep and everything to do with the weight of watching an entire pack recalibrate itself around a truth it hadn't been ready for that morning.
Kael found me on the pack house steps a little after four, two cups of something warm in his hands, and sat down beside me without asking if I wanted company, the way he'd learned to do over the last three weeks, offering, never assuming.
"You look like you're still turning the last few hours over in your head," he said, handing me one of the cups.
"I am." I wrapped my hands around it, more for something to hold than the warmth. "Thorne. His parents. What it cost them to complete the binding and th
