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The great hall buzzed with anticipation as Alpha Maurice Harvey's commanding voice echoed off the stone walls. "My son returns victorious!" His words carried the weight of absolute authority, silencing every whisper in the packed assembly. I pressed myself deeper into the shadows near the back wall, my fingers unconsciously tracing the faint scar on my wrist—a nervous habit I'd never been able to shake. The massive oak doors groaned open, and Austin Harvey stepped into the torchlit hall. Even from my hidden position, his presence hit me like a physical force. The future Alpha moved with predatory grace, his broad shoulders filling out his leather jacket, dark hair tousled from the mountain winds. The pack members around me straightened instinctively, their wolves recognizing the power radiating from him in waves. "Behold your future Alpha!" Maurice's voice boomed as he gestured toward his son. "Austin has successfully eliminated the rogue threat along our eastern borders. Fifteen rogues dead, their leader captured and interrogated." Pride dripped from every word, but I caught something else—a possessive gleam in Maurice's eyes as he watched the pack's reverent reactions to Austin.