KELLY THOMPSON'S POV

The air was thick with the musk of apprehension, my heart racing as I eyed the assembly before me. These were leaders hardened by their own trials, each carrying the weight of their pack's legacy on their shoulders as surely as I bore mine. The room echoed with the low murmurs of discordant voices, a cacophony of concern that threatened to drown out the call for unity.

"Remember," I whispered under my breath, "the Black Faes are watching, waiting in the shadowed fringes of ...