“Good,” Cannon said. “Neither will we.”
Kris tipped his head. “A Council that actually functions? Miracles happen.”
I exhaled slowly. This wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what was needed. “I’ll sit,” I said. “Not as a ruler. As a protector.”
“Same here,” Cannon muttered.
Kris nodded. “And something tells me that someone needs to keep you two from tearing out throats during every disagreement.”
Killian failed to hide his huff of laughter.
The shaman beamed like a proud parent. “Look at you three. A brand-new era.”
I shook my head. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. This will be rough.”
“Oh, yes,” Kris said. “Painful and probably chaotic.”
Cannon snorted. “Deadly probably.”
The shaman grinned wider. “Sounds perfect.”
And for the first time since Stonefang fell, I felt the future shift—not with fear or threat, but withpotential.
A new world.
A new order.
Built by wolves who survived the old one.
Not kneeling. Not bowing. Standing.
United.
