The council chamber buzzed with tension as the senior members of the Pack sat around the crescent-shaped table.
At one end, Elder Collins sat stiffly, his gnarled hands clenched on the polished wood. The chaos that now plagued the Pack had begun with his sister's children, and the weight of that shame pressed heavily on his shoulders.
Elder Benjamin, a feeble old man, spoke first. His sharp gaze swept the room. "The temple was desecrated," he said, voice low and cold. "A crater in the wall. Burn marks scorched into sacred stone. And not a single soul saw who did it?"
He was the oldest among them and only ever attended meetings when the matter was grave.
"There was." Elder Maya replied, her silver hair framed a face as hard as rock. "The warriors reported hearing voices. When they arrived, the temple was empty, but they caught Luna Reana's scent... and another. They say it was foreign, unidentifiable, and powerfully male."
All eyes shifted to Reana.
