The approach happens in daylight.
Not in a shadowed corridor. Not in a private office. The senior wolf waits for me near the western balcony where the air carries the scent of pine and damp earth, where patrol shifts are visible in the distance and nothing about the setting suggests secrecy. It is deliberate. Visible. Controlled.
I dismiss my escort with a look that says I need five minutes and receive a brief hesitation before they comply, stepping back far enough to appear respectful while remaining within sight. The senior wolf notes the distance with approval and gestures lightly toward the railing.
“We need to talk,” they say.
“We’ve been doing that,” I reply evenly.
They do not smile at the deflection. Today, there is no pretense of softness. No layered concern. No gentle phrasi
