A heavy silence hung in the air as Elias looked out the window, his gaze tracing the line of shadows cast by the gathering night. The meeting tonight would decide everything. He’d chosen the location carefully—his own home, an unassuming place in the far corner of the estate. No one would question the movements of the pack’s elder in his own quarters, and he wanted this gathering hidden from prying eyes.

He turned, hands clasped behind his back, as the door creaked open and his guests entered one by one. Kenneth walked in first, smirking as he took his place near the corner of the room, leaning back with an...