Chapter 15: The First Test

The air in the clearing was thick with the unspoken weight of my decree. Kaelus stood before me, no longer the kneeling supplicant, but a soldier awaiting orders. The raw vulnerability was gone, replaced by a grim determination. My conditions had been simple, yet monumental. First,​ he would use his authority not to force my return, but to clear my name completely within the pack. Every lie Selena had spread would be publicly retracted. Second,​ he would accompany me, not as an Alpha, but...