Kane’s POV
I was in the war room, Zack was standing at my right, his arms crossed, his face set like stone. Lucas lounged in a chair at my left, twirling a dagger between his fingers as if the world wasn’t hanging by a thread.
I leaned over the maps, tracing the line of our borders with one finger. Ava’s training echoed in my mind, her glow, the way warriors bowed after she dropped them one by one. She was no longer the fragile girl I’d first carried into this pack but that didn’t erase the truth: power without control could be just as dangerous as weakness.
Before I could push that thought further, the door slammed open. A warrior stumbled in, chest heaving, dirt streaked across his face.
“Alpha Kane!” His voice cracked. “It’s the East border. Rogues, they’ve struck one of the neighbo
