I make a decision likely to complicate my position with both pack and council. “We warn them together. My wolves know shortcuts through these forests that even bears cannot navigate. Lena, return to camp. Tell Marcus to prepare warriors but maintain position until I return.”
Lena hesitates, visibly uncomfortable with my plan, but finally indicates agreement. “Yes, Alpha.”
When she departs, Ember looks at me with surprise. “You’re helping a settlement?”
“I’m preventing a massacre that others would blame on all wild shifters,” I correct. “Practical strategy, nothing more.”
Her slight smile suggests disbelief, but she presses no further. “Lead the way, Alpha.”
Moving silently through the night forest, I realize how dangerously close we approach the line Marcus warned about—where pack loyalty blurs with mating bond influence. I justify this as a strategic necessity for survival.
But watching Ember match my stride beneath moonlit branches, I cannot deny the truth any longer. Wild or civilized, ambassador or alpha, something fundamental has changed between us. Something neither tradition nor duty fully controls.
And with Stormcrow’s bears approaching innocent settlers, we will soon discover whether that change saves our people or destroys them.
10
EMBER
The eastern sky bleeds gold and crimson as Zane and I race back toward Haven’s Heart. My muscles burn, lungs heaving after our night of frantic activity. Behind us lies Clearwater Crossing—intact, its people unharmed, blissfully sleeping through the danger that nearly claimed them.
We’d arrived just in time. Stormcrow’s bear scouts had already positioned themselves around the settlement’s perimeter when we slipped through their lines. While Zane organized the handful of Shadow Wolf warriors who’d followed us against his beta’s wishes, I’d roused the settlement’s leaders. Working together—wild and civilized—we’d established a defensive perimeter that made the bears reconsider their easy target.
Now, as dawn breaks over the forest, fatigue drags at my limbs, but triumph lifts my spirit. For the first time, Shadow Wolves and settlement shifters stood side by side. The significance isn’t lost on me, nor on Zane, though he maintains stoic silence as we run.
“The council will want an immediate report,” I say as Haven’s Heart’s walls come into view.
Zane slows his pace. “And what will you tell them, Ambassador?”
The formal title stings after what we’ve shared. “The truth. That your pack helped prevent a massacre.”
His silver eyes search my face. “Some truths prove more dangerous than lies.”
I understand his warning. Our growing connection—the bond neither of us acknowledges but both increasingly feel—would complicate the council’s perspective.
“I know where the lines must be drawn,” I assure him, though my certainty feels hollow.
We part at the border, each returning to our separate worlds. The mate bond stretches between us, a physical ache that intensifies with distance.
“This changes everything,” Councilor Elena says, her fingers steepled before her. The emergency council session convened minutes after my arrival, barely giving me time to exchange my mud-spattered clothes for formal diplomatic attire.
Twenty council members surround the obsidian table, their expressions ranging from skeptical to openly hostile. I stand at the head, back straight despite my exhaustion.
“Shadow Wolves defended Clearwater Crossing,” I repeat. “They positioned warriors alongside settlement guards, creating a unified defense that deterred the bear clan.”
“Or perhaps it was theater,” Councilor Fletcher suggests, his lips curled in disdain. “A convenient arrangement between wild clans to gain our trust.”
Heat flares beneath my skin. “Theater that saved three hundred lives.”
“For now,” Fletcher counters. “Until the wolves decide to finish what the bears began.”
I bite back the growl building in my throat. “Stormcrow’s bears and Blackthorn’s wolves are not allies. They’re historical enemies. The Shadow Wolves acted against their own kind to protect innocents.”
“Ambassador Steelclaw,” Vampire Representative Marrin interjects, “your argument relies on distinguishing between wild clan intentions. Yet our intelligence suggests all emerging clans coordinate their territorial claims.”
“Your intelligence is wrong,” I state flatly. “The Mountain Bears kill indiscriminately. The Shadow Wolves have shown restraint and willingness to negotiate.”
“And we should take your assessment at face value?” Fletcher’s tone drips with insinuation.
