The scent of pine and cold steel hung thick in the air, sharp against Celeste’s senses as she stepped into the council chamber. The high-arched ceiling loomed overhead, casting long shadows down the stone walls. A dozen wolves lined the long table, cloaked in colors that represented their regions, iron-grey for the North, blood-red for the East, deep blue for the coastal West, and gold for her own Southern lands.

Hunter flanked her right, posture loose but dangerous, like a blade sheathed at ...