Iris's POV

The bonfire kept roaring, throwing wild shadows across everyone’s faces.

I’d lost track of Chloe maybe forty minutes ago. One second she was near the drinks, the next she’d melted into the crowd. With how I looked tonight, I wasn’t surprised. Part of me felt guilty for ditching her, but the bigger part couldn’t stop watching Rafael.

He stood near the big oak, deep in it with the elders and a couple visiting alphas. His ahoulders straight, that commanding voice carrying just enough for me to catch pieces of what they were discussing, territory lines, alliances, the usual power stuff. Every now and then his eyes cut across...