By the time we arrived back in Netsville, I was taken aback by the transformation. The entire town had been cleaned up, partially rebuilt, and restructured, with the castle—once belonging to Alpha Domenico—set to become Stefano's new residence. The castle felt like a bitter token from Alpha Matteo, as though he hoped Stefano would settle for Netsville and forget about the packlands he was meant to inherit.

As expected, Maria and Chiara were already there, busy preparing Stefano's ...