The morning of my wedding eve began with the task I'd been dreading since Lucien's betrayal. I needed a new Beta, and I needed one fast. The position couldn't remain vacant, not with the pack already questioning my leadership and a wedding that would cement my future as Alpha.

I'd called for trials to be held in the training hall, a massive stone structure that had witnessed countless competitions over the centuries. Word had spread quickly through the pack, and by dawn, twenty-three wolves had ...