Lucius’ POV

As much as I liked sticking to a time schedule that I had drawn up, I rushed back home after the next day. The vigil had been an emotional one, and his body was burned before the first light, the mountain wolves howling in the distance. As was the usual custom, the ashes had been scattered across the four corners of the Lake of Souls, a suspended lake in the center of the pack settlement.

We drove back, the trip taken in silence, the weight and heaviness of what we had just experienced hanging in our hearts. I’ve never seen Chadwick so silent and careful, even after seeing...