e walls. Heavy air laced with tension. The s

, as Alpha Alfred Stephens addressed the Crescent Vale elders. Hi

ned parchment for all to see. "The rogue symbol was carved into his ch

rippled throu

eaned forward. "You're asking us to go to

. I'm warning you what's coming. War is

She's not one of us, Alfred. She's an outsider. We don't know h

s spine st

ring the flickers of surprise. He

nto the firel

Alpha. I didn't choose to lose my voice or my pack. But I'm h

ge. Silence ripple

fred steppe

olves here," he said coldly

wned. "So, what

oath," Al

loyalty to this pack- publicly, by moonlight-and I'll invoke the a

explod

r with a blood tie?" Elder

ready

ike a stone in wate

onoliths atop the ridge. Torches burned around them, casting dancing shadows against the snow. The a

proached her with a ceremonial blade in

escent Vale and its people? Will you guard its land, hon

ed, gaze

palm with the blade and let his blood drip i

r own palm. The pain grounded her. She let her

ough the circle- recognition from the land itself.

nd thrumming stronger than ever.

f us now," he

rning, a scout returned from the ea

with the Blackthorn remnants

od frozen, his hands clenched at his sides

's pulse

ckt

he mate he'd lost in battle. The pack that o

ing the same rogues that ha

e every able-bodied wolf. Fortify

bled quickly: W

lways wanted," Gavin mutt

Alfred added, "th

ed at A

the legacy she carries. And the wolves wh

nt cold. They want t

d. "And we can't

her in daggers and close-range combat. She practiced until her fingers blistered, until her knees gave out, u

oser, stirring, trying.

e

mo

a

the clearing behind the barracks. She was alone, panti

he rasped, tears f

eed to shift to fight. But you w

on't? What

stand in fr

oked a

r shift," he said, voice

. Not because she was weak. But beca

the east. Rogues poured from the trees like smoke and shadow, their snarls echoing t

burned like fire. Gavin, Rhea, and the rest followed. Annabelle stood at th

fo

. Fo

r across his jaw. She remembered him. He'd held her down while her home burned. He'd dragged her

ed at him. They collided i

Still alive,

ound, when her pain ignited like wildfire- Her wolf came roaring back. Bones cracked. Muscles snapped. And then, she shifte

he snow. And when she turned to the battlefield, her howl echoed across the valley-powerful, pure, a

victory celebration- but the stunned, awe-struck silence that descended l

ks, her silver eyes scanning what was left of the rogues' charge. The enemy had started to retreat the moment she'd

fted like that. She didn't ju

den eyes locked on hers. He was huge, dark as midnight, his fur st

body. They met nose to nose in the snow, t

head. And so did ev

ifted back into human form and drop

the e

ith her thoughts. Was this what her father had once been? A ruler no

ed altar, whispering a vow in an old language. A symbol etched in silver behind him

had won the battle, but the cost had been steep-five warriors dead, anothe

'd r

side still throbbed where she'd been slashed, but the pain was fading fast-al

there, his face

es tonight," h

d up her notepad w

w I could sh

oice low. "You summoned a bloodline that hasn't walked this

hat mean fo

t her for a

will come harder now. B

owned.

loyal to his house. If word spreads that his daughter

eace. He touched her arm gently.

her thoughts as restless as the win

lready

with strategy meetings, wound-tending, a

ided her, unsure whether to fear or revere her. The

most of the diplomatic duties, meeting with messenger wolves from neighboring territories while she recovered. But Annabelle knew it was o

elle

sed it

Vale, And the wolf who

see

orders and the lies your father spoke. We are coming to finish what we started.

arkos, Bloodf

ed as she lowered the sc

did," Alfre

gaze. What

ve always done. We fight. But th

o

ng the ol

e north and west, calling on ally packs who once respected the House

uld lead to peace-or paint a target even larger than before. As she stood in the tower window, watching the

not ru

ently, he made his own vow. He would