War does not only create enemies.
It reveals them.
The council fire burns high at the center of the clearing.
Around it stand the Alphas of allied packs—some loyal, some uncertain, some already questioning why they ever bowed.
The air is thick. Not with smoke.
With tension.
Aria stands at the head of the circle, unmoving, her presence commanding without effort. Silver flickers faintly in her eyes, her power barely restrained beneath the surface.
Kael stands at her right. Silent. Watchful.
Ready.
“We cannot keep reacting,” Aria says, her voice calm but firm. “The attacks are coordinated. If we don’t unify fully, we will fall—one territory at a time.”
A low scoff cuts through the circle.
Alpha Rovan steps forward, broad-shouldered, his expression hard.
“Unify?” he repeats. “Or su
