perfect circle. Sile
night when young wolves shifted for the first time under ancestral ble
refoot. Knees scraped.
ter of the ritual grounds, the cold dirt beneath
s use
s cur
t even a
ren't even hu
draped in furs, his eyes filled with controlled dis
he said aloud, his voice echoing thr
g herself not to cry. "I tried, Alph
r you won't? Maybe the spirit of you
owd sn
ys found a way to bring up her parents, even
dered by rogu
y to survive
the Alpha never looked her in
rd, descending the s
ace to the bloodline. And every day you breathe, yo
na said
ing inside her - somethin
ye
-
erved i
cian declared. "So your p
owd st
unish
ms and forced her to her knees. Lucian walked in a
r, and protection all your life
sed hi
her right to the pack lands. Until she learn
no ceremon
ves as her own peopl
-
x
t barefoot and alone, her white cerem
idn't
dn't s
ust w
stirred. Like a drumbeat. Like an ancient
w harder. Th
oice whisp
ou're weak. G
-
own
of the trees, someone watc
pack
somethi
ped into the shadows,
ng," it sai
nished wit
-
Chapt