Chapter 176

No drums. No council summons. No dramatic reckoning left to unfold. The truth had already done its work, and truth—Caleb had learned—didn’t shout when it finished. It simply remained.

The pack woke differently.

Not lighter. Not happier. Just… steadier.

Caleb stood in the courtyard as wolves passed him on their way to duty. Some bowed. Some only nodded. A few met his eyes and held them, measuring the Alpha he had chosen to be rather than the one blood had promised.

He ...