Chase’s POV
The neutral ground was a wide, shallow bowl of earth carved into the side of a low mountain—ringed by ancient pines, lit only by the full moon and the torches the council had planted at the four cardinal points. No barriers. No ropes. Just open ground and the pack gathered in a loose circle around the perimeter—Hudson wolves on one side, Northern remnants on the other. Silence pressed down heavier than any roar.
Viktor waited in the center.
Tall. Scarred. Shoulders broad enough to block the moon when he turned. He’d stripped to the waist—muscle corded, old fight marks silver in the silver light. His eyes were yellow—wolf close to the surface, no pretense of civility left.
I walked in alone.
No brace tonight. No crutches. The knee was taped tight under loose black pants, bu
