LOGINThe council asks this time.Not a summons. Not pressure disguised as protocol. An invitation delivered with careful wording and softened edges, the kind meant to signal respect while still implying inevitability.Formal meeting. Neutral ground. Optional attendance.Optional is the lie they tell them
Restlessness settles into me like a second pulse.It starts subtle. A tightness in my calves. A need to move that does not have a direction attached to it. I pace the length of the cabin after sunset, counting steps without meaning to. Window to door. Door to sink. Sink to window. I stop only when t
“You refused reform,” I say. “On record.”“We refused parts of it,” she corrects. “The parts that didn’t make sense for us.”“That’s not usually how this goes.”She glances at me, eyes sharp but not defensive. “Usually reform gets treated like scripture instead of framework.”I stop walking. She sto
The call comes in just after dawn, the hour when problems like to pretend they waited politely.Small pack. Northern edge. Refusing reform.The phrasing alone sets my shoulders tight as I read it. Refusing reform never means the same thing twice. Sometimes it means outright defiance. Sometimes it me
“I am not a symbol,” I snap, heat flashing through my chest.She leans back in her chair, studying me. “You already are. You just refuse to acknowledge it.”“That does not mean I consent to it,” I say. My hands curl against the counter behind me. “I don’t want a throne.”Morgan’s gaze sharpens. “No
Morgan arrives without warning.No call. No message. No polite notice that would give me time to prepare or pretend. I hear her boots on the porch before I scent her, the weight of her presence familiar enough that my shoulders tense on instinct alone. Some wolves announce themselves even when they







