“Now remember,” Elaine began gently, bending down so she was eye-level with the little boy perched on the edge of his bed, “we have a lot of visitors arriving today for the Luna ceremony tomorrow. You can stay with us while we welcome them, but there is no moment— not one—where you leave our sight or your guards’ sight, alright? And no talking to anyone without us. Even if it’s an Alpha from another pack.”
Her voice carried the weight of a leader and the warmth of a mother all at once. Outside the window, the estate buzzed softly—guards shifting into position, patrol wolves rotating, the calm before dignitaries and power swept through their territory like a tide.
Nathan’s small hands fidgeted with the tiny golden buttons of his small suit. He nodded eagerly, curls bouncing. It was a heav
