The compound knew before the announcement.
The pack bond had carried it the moment Maren said the naming words — the new thread arriving in the collective warmth like a chord being added to music that had been playing for a long time, changing the quality of everything without announcing itself. Five hundred wolves feeling something new settle into the bond's fabric and understanding, without words, what it meant.
By morning the compound had organized itself with the efficiency of a community that had been preparing for something and was now simply executing.
Food arrived in the room — delivered by Gamma Reese with the practical warmth of someone who understood that new parents needed feeding before they needed celebrating. Kira's specific post-birth requirements, already communicated,
