Kael hadn’t planned to stay long. The Spring Hearth Gathering had always been a lighthearted affair, a day when ranks blurred and wolves forgot the burdens of command. But this year, something in the air drew him in, a pull that had nothing to do with duty.

He had been in his study, going through the endless reports that cluttered his desk, when the laughter reached him from the kitchen courtyard. For a long time, such sounds had grated against him, reminding him of all that could so easily ...