Janet leaned forward slightly, her eyes locking onto his.
“Do what no Alpha before you has done,” she said.
The words came slower now.
Measured and intentional.
“Give this pack something it has never had.”
A small pause.
Then, quieter—
“Bring them power they cannot ignore.”
Darren held her gaze.
Something flickered there now.
Interest.
Calculation.
Janet didn’t look away.
“If you can do that…” she continued, “they won’t just accept you.”
Her voice lowered into something almost final.
“They’ll need you.”
The fire crackled softly between them.
And for the first time since he had walked in, Darren felt hope.
But because an idea was beginning to take shape.
Something that felt… like an answer.
Janet saw it happen.
The shift.
And she didn’t stop it.
She just watched.
Bec
