(Raiden’s POV)
Midnight air sweeps through the Alpha quarters, carrying the lingering scents of equinox celebration—woodsmoke, ceremonial herbs, the complex melange of pack members gathered in unusually close proximity.
I stand at the open balcony doors, allowing the breeze to cool skin that feels too hot, too tight across muscles tensed with the effort of maintaining Alpha composure through hours of ceremonial obligations.
Below, festival fires still burn despite the late hour, their golden light illuminating scattered groups of pack members continuing celebrations that will extend through tomorrow's storytelling circle and into the final night's hunt ritual.
Drums beat a steady rhythm that pulses through the ground itself, vibrating through stone foundations into my
