HUNTER POV
They gathered at dawn.
The clearing behind the Blackwood packhouse was silent. Not even the wind dared speak.
I stood near the front, holding my mate, Lyra, close. She leaned on me, her body pressed against mine, seeking the comfort of skin-to-skin contact, the grounding presence of my scent. I knew she needed this—to calm the storm within her, to find the strength to face the end of this chapter in her life.
She was anxious but fierce. My mate was a force of nature.
The weight of what was coming hung heavy in the air.
The Shaming Post had already been raised. Blackwood tradition. Ancient. Unforgiving. It hadn't been used in months.
Beta Max had mentioned that since Luna Alice accepted her fate, so many covens had sought their help last year that they had to build another
