Chapter 2

When I returned to the packhouse, Alpha Augustus was still not back. The grand living room, usually alive with the hum of pack members and the glow of moonlight through the windows, was dim and eerily quiet. My fingers trembled slightly as I slipped off the silver ring engraved with the Silver Moon Pack insignia—the mark of my bond with Augustus—and tossed it aside. It rolled across the polished wooden floor with a soft "ding," its final stop unknown. I didn’t linger. Turning on my heel, I climbed the stairs to fetch my suitcase.

Opening the closet in what had…