The night air was heavy, thick with the smell of smoke and damp earth. Torches ringed the ancient circle outside the pack’s sacred grounds, their flames casting long, restless shadows across the carved stone. Wolves lined the perimeter, silent, their eyes reflecting the firelight as though the entire pack had become one unblinking witness.

Bella stood at the center, her shawl slipping from her shoulders as she faced the altar. The stones beneath her feet pulsed with history, scarred by ...