ARES' POV

I sat at the head of the long mahogany council table, torchlight dancing across my burning gaze. The elders shifted uneasily in their seats, their eyes flicking from me to one another in thinly veiled concern. I let the silence stretch, allowing tension to fill the chamber.

“My decree stands,” I said, voice calm yet final. “The Annual Crescent Festival will coincide with the Luna coronation. Unity in celebration. A single, resounding statement of our pack’s strength and ...