CHAPTER 12

Alph strode to the length of his room; his mind was in a whirl. The words had spread like wildfire—there had been a death near the university, a body found in the forest just at the outskirts of the campus grounds. It wasn't a student, and with that, an unknown person made it even more dangerous. Howling City managed to hide the existence of wolves from the human population for decades, and Hampton University was the only institution of its kind, where wolves could live and learn away from human eyes. There was a lot at stake. If news about the death were to get out, or worse still, if the wolves were suspected, no one knew what would probably ensue. What might unravel in an instant had taken decades of careful balance.

Earlier that morning, his father—the pack's current alpha—had called him into his study. The room was lit with dim light; the heavy curtains were drawn to block out the morning sun. The air had hung heavy with the weight of the responsibility, as his father—a tall, im