*Maddox*

Leo moves across the field of the stadium on the outskirts of my territory, the walls crawling with vines and smelling sharply of freshly cut grass. I stand with my arms crossed as Leo instructs a group of warriors who are setting up for the trials, watching their every move. Leo has fallen into his new role as one of my royal commanders without a hitch.

I’d thought about making him my Beta, or at least letting him compete for it. But Leo is young, and also grew up far outside the traditional way of things. His mother may have been a member of my kingdom, but his father...