Inside the council chamber, I felt like the atmosphere was pressing down on my shoulders. The elders stood in a circle, their faces calm, their eyes wouldn't leave me alone. I felt small in that moment, even with the power still humming under my skin.

The eldest stepped forward. His voice was steady, almost gentle, but his words were not. He said the Eclipse had not only awakened me. It had chosen me. To unite the broken packs, I had to complete something called the Bond Rite. If I ...