Sela nodded. "Yes. And your mother..... Not a Luna by title alone, but a High Seer, the last known blood-witch of your line. She chose seclusion, peace. The Halcyn Pack... your pack... they were not like the others."
She reached into the steaming bowl, swirling the water slowly.
"They believed in balance. In harmony with magic, with nature. They were healers. Seers. Warriors only when forced. Your father was feared for the wrong reasons, not because he was brutal, but because he wasn't. He didn't bend the knee to the other Alphas, didn't chase territory or war. He led through wisdom, not dominance. That frightened the others."
Cassandra's throat tightened. "And so they destroyed them."
Sela's hands paused in the water, the herbs swirling in a slow, idle spiral.
Her voice came low, sha
