A crown, Jasmine learned within the first week, invited challenge as readily as it invited celebration. Word of unrest reached her before the formal summons even did, whispered rumors of a branch pack testing the boundaries of the new order she'd only just finished establishing.

The summons arrived from a minor Blood Moon branch pack, a cousin bloodline that had never fully accepted Hardin's rule and saw, in the Council's unprecedented ruling, an opportunity to press their own long-dormant claim to the Alpha seat itself.

"Alaric of the Ashwood branch," Liora read from the formal challenge scroll, her tone carrying open contempt. "Claims that a Luna crowned independent of Alpha...