The wolf packs arrived at noon—four Alphas with their seconds and fighters, all of them looking at me like I was either their salvation or their doom depending on who you asked.
I stood in the main hall with Kael at my side and tried not to focus on how my palms were sweating or how my thumbnail kept finding my finger or how I wanted to run before any of them decided I wasn't worth following.
"Alpha Marcus of the Northern Ridge Pack." Kael's voice was formal. Professional. "Alpha Sienna of the Coastal Guard. Alpha Thomas of the Mountain Territory. Alpha Chen of the Eastern Forest."
Four Alphas. Roughly a hundred wolves between them. All here because I'd asked them to fight for a prophecy they weren't sure was real.
No pressure.
Alpha Marcus was maybe fifty with grey streaking through dark hair and eyes that missed nothing. He looked me over once—assessing, not hostile—and nodded. "Hybrid Queen."
Not a question. An acknowledgment.
I could work with that.
