KADE’S POV

The hall felt too small, like the walls were pressing in, the weight of the entire pack’s eyes shifting, the air too tight to breathe. Orran stood at the front with his back too straight, his chest puffed out, that tone in his voice that always carried like iron chains. He didn’t just speak, he dictated, and the whole room bowed to him without needing to bend. His words weren’t for discussion. His words were law. And tonight, he was cutting with them.

“From this day ...