Page 72 of Wolf's Reckoning
I didn’t wear it. Not yet. Not until I decided where to place it—arm, wrist,throat. Like a noose perhaps.
Rowen didn’t look my way again. She hadn’t since the druid named me leader. She just stood in the flickering glow of the pyre, silent and unreadable, like her soul had gone into the smoke with her father’s name.
I didn’t blame her.
But I wasn’t going to carry her mourning too.
I was the alpha now. Theirs. Even though they didn’t know it, and I had no time for sentiment.
The druid had stepped back into the shadows, disappearing as easily as they’d appeared. The fire behind me roared higher, wind catching the flames like the Goddess was hungry tonight.
Let her feed.
Killian appeared at my shoulder without a word. He didn’t congratulate me. Didn’t offer sympathy. Just stood there, like a goddamn pillar—stone-faced, dependable, and waiting.
“What’s the first move?” he asked quietly as he watched the pack.
I looked out over the ridge. The trees. The Hollow. The pack gathered. My pack now.
The power of the alpha had come as Malric took his last breath. I’d been in his rooms, not too close that anyone saw the power shift, thank the Goddess. It hadn’t slammed into me like it did when Lars passed; it had been more like a deep inhale after being underwater for too long. Killian had noticed the way my body stilled as I accepted the gift Malric gave me.
“They think I’ll play along,” I murmured, my voice kept low as I watched Rowen move among them, accepting their words and love as we stood back. “They think I came to marry the girl and keep the traditions warm.”
Killian snorted. “You’re terrible at warm.”
“They need to learn that fast,” I said. “This isn’t the old world anymore. I’m not the same as when I left, and I’m not their ghost king, raised from the ashes to nod and bow to anyone either.” I finally looked down at the leather. The stitching. The weight. “No.” I looked up. “I came here because something’s wrong in these mountains. Packs are being hit. Borders tested. Shifters going missing.” I clenched the band in my fist. “And this pack—they’re not ready to defend themselves or this land they cherish so much.”
“This pack? Your pack now.” Killian tilted his head. “You planning to fix theirreadiness?”
I met his gaze. “I already started.”
He grinned as we walked away. Behind us, the howls were still echoing through the trees. My name passing from throat to throat.
Wolfe.Not of the Stonefang Pack. But of theHollow.
I let the silence stretch as we walked away, my wolf pacing just beneath the surface. Restless. Like me.
“Call a meeting,” I told Killian. “At dawn. Elders, sentries, warriors. I want to know who’s loyal, who’s lazy, and who’s going to cause problems.”
“And Rowen?”
I didn’t answer right away. “She’s smart,” I said. “But she’s not ready for this yet. She needs time to let go.”
Killian arched a brow. “You gonna make her?”
“No,” I said flatly. “I’m going to give her space to grieve. And while she’s losing herself in it—I’ll be molding this pack with my hands.”
Killian murmured something that sounded a lot like approval.
I spent the night in the pack hall, in the alpha’s quarters, learning as much as I could about this pack from Malric’s files and my memory. I had no intention of taking up residence in this hall. I believed that the alpha should be approachable, but I also believed that the alpha needed space. There was no space from the pack when you slept where they ate.
Housing myself here wouldn’t accomplish what I needed. When Killian came back after delivering the message about the upcoming meeting,mymessage, I toldhim I needed to find somewhere to stay. He left again, and a few hours later, he returned, telling me to follow him.
Blueridge Hollow homes were single-story, cut into rock or immersed between and beneath trees. Killian had found a house that looked long empty, and as I stared at it, I thought back to my time here. As far as I could recall, it had lain empty then too.
“It has two bedrooms,” he said in the quiet of the night. “It’s more spacious than it looks. Needs a shitload of work done in it.” He shrugged. “We’ve got pack back at Stonefang that can fix that easily.” He jerked his head to a nearby home, smaller. “That one’s mine.”
“You’d live here?” I looked at him in surprise. “Stonefang has always been your home.”
