The initial shock of Caleb's three momentous announcements had begun to fade, replaced by a palpable hum of anticipation that thrummed through the grand hall like a living thing. The music swelled, the candles flickered, and the guests slowly returned to their conversations, their laughter, their dancing. But beneath the surface, something had shifted—an electric undercurrent of possibility that made every wolf in the room acutely aware of the numbers pinned to their chests.
Then, the display board began to light up.
Numbers appeared in elegant, glowing script—golden numerals that seemed to pulse with their own inner light. Each pairing sent ripples of excitement through the crowd, a wave of gasps and murmurs that spread from one corner of the ballroom to the next.
A she-wolf in a silve
