Chapter 45 – The Pack Turns
The pain in my side didn't wake me. The memory of it did. Every breath reminded me of the strike I had taken for her, every heartbeat reminded me how close I had been to failing.
I stayed still for a long moment, listening to the fortress waking around me. Guards shifting, footsteps echoing against stone. The quiet spaces felt wrong. Something had changed overnight, and I could feel it.
A knock came at the door. Hard, impatient, not hesitant. Not respectful.
"Enter," I said.
The guard stepped in. Head down. Shoulders stiff. "The council… they're waiting, Alpha."
Waiting. Not asking. Not giving me the courtesy of warning.
I sat up slowly, careful with the wound, careful not to let the guard see me flinch.
"At dawn?" I asked.
"Yes, Alpha," he said. That was all.
I didn't bother moving faster.
