Richard
The gala shimmered with ceremony and self-congratulation. Strings of lights laced the rafters above like constellations arranged with obsessive care, while banners in navy and silver hung from every wall, proclaiming UNITY AMONG WOLVES as if repetition could make it true.
Everything was meticulous and polished, handcrafted for optics, shaped to please the Council, and built for performance. Even through the haze of champagne, I could see the stitching beneath it all.
But the weight in my chest wouldn’t lift. The music was elegant, the people were loud, and under it all, I felt the air shift in wrong, small ways.
We hadn’t even had twenty-four hours of peace. The vote was still warm. Yet the Pack elite stood shoulder to shoulder again, drinking to stability as if they hadn’t eac
