DAX'S POV
The reception was still running when Marcus found him.
Not the whole reception — the social surface of it, the pack moving through the aftermath of the ceremony with the particular warmth of a community that has just watched something formalize. Food, conversation, the ease of people who had been uncertain and were now satisfied. Eleanor at the center, receiving congratulations with the composed pleasure of someone who considered herself personally responsible for all satisfactory outcomes and was not incorrect.
Dax was at the edge of the room when Marcus appeared at his shoulder.
Marcus had a specific quality when something was serious. Most people read him as perpetually comfortable — the easy manner, the unhurried pace, the smile that made difficult rooms feel ordinary. Bu
