I could hear her heartbeat, still pounding against her rib cage, and I knew that no matter how this ended—we were no longer pretending we weren’t in it together.
I turned toward the office that led to the main pack hall, and as I left the room, I reached again for the alpha bond—the thread that tied me to every shifter in this territory. Whether they were Stonefang, Blueridge, loyal or treacherous. They were all my pack.
My Will rose.
Hot. Heavy. Irrefutable.
I walked down the corridor, the scent of sex and power still clinging to my skin like smoke. I didn’t slow my steps as I walked toward the hall—didn’t give myself time to think, to come down, to second-guess what came next.
There was no space for reflection now.
I was still running hot. Still burning, and the pack was going to feel it.
Diesel and Killian stood at the entrance to the main hall. I didn’t have to say a word—they moved aside as I passed, their shoulders straightening, eyes locked forward. They’d felt the shift.
Everyone had.
The pack hall was full. Wolves lined the stone walls and filled the benches in tense, murmuring rows.
Some stood. Some sat, postures wary and stiff. Some had bowed heads. Most did not.
I stepped into the space, let the silence ripple through them, and then I let my Will rise. Not in a sudden surge—but in a slow, unrelenting climb. Like pressure pressing against the inside of a sealed room. Like breath waiting to be snatched.
Heads turned. Spines straightened. Even the most defiant wolves twitched.
“Corrin confessed,” I said, voice steady, amplified by the force coiled behind it. “He sold information. Passed patrol schedules to someone outside this pack. He claimed ignorance, claimed good intentions—none of that matters.”
I let the words settle. Didn’t fill the silence that followed. They needed to sit with it.
“There is no room in this pack for wolves who forget who they stand beside.” No one moved. I could feel Rowen entering behind me, her presence a shadow at my back. I didn’t look over at her. I knew she was with me. Knew that having her by my side made me stronger.
“One by one,” I said, “you will come forward. You will speak your truth. Or I will take it.”
A wave of unease moved through the crowd like wind across dry leaves.
“If your heart is clean, you have nothing to fear.” I cast my gaze over them all. “If it’s not”—I smiled, slow and cold—“then run now. Because this is your only chance.”
No one ran.
Not yet.
Somewhere, in the depths of the pack’s collective silence, I felt something crack and then start to burn.
I turned to Diesel.
“Start with the outer patrol. The wolves who ran routes near the Hollow during the last three attacks. One by one.”
He nodded and barked a name.
Billy. A younger Stonefang wolf. Quiet. Fast. Loyal, from what I’d seen. But I didn’t trust appearances anymore, not even ones I’d helped train.
Billy stepped forward, tense, shoulders squared. He knelt without being told. Smart. But unnecessary. I didn’t need them on their knees. Not physically. Mentally, I would make them bow.
That was enough.
“Do you know who’s passing information?” I asked.
“No, Alpha.”
