The wind weakened after sunrise.
Clouds pulled apart over a pack house with its upper halls split open to the sky. Snow covered the roofs, the courtyard, and the bodies the Council crew had begun to mark.
I left the Eternal Flame running and stepped outside.
The air bit my face. It was clean and ordinary, with no mate bond in my head and no Alpha waiting for an answer.
Elder Vance stood near the lead airship. Nia had gathered the pups, elders, and remaining wolves beside the relief crates.
“This territory has no Alpha,” Vance said. “The former Alpha is in Council custody.”
“Beacon telemetry, survivor accounts, the archive, and your ledger support the charges. A tribunal will decide his sentence.”
He looked toward the survivors.
“The pack still needs leadership through the winter. T
