The alliance Voss had promised took three weeks to fully assemble — representatives from every major bloodline gathering at Liora's fortress, transformed once again into something between a war council and a school, as Jasmine and Liora worked to teach a concept that had never before been formally taught to anyone. Tents and temporary quarters spread across the fortress grounds until the once-quiet outer courtyard resembled a small, bustling city of its own, packs and covens who had spent generations avoiding each other now forced into close, uneasy proximity.

"The principle is simple, even if the execution won't be," Jasmine explained to the assembled representatives, standing before a hall filled...