Chapter 169

Emily’s POV

The ceremony lasted far longer than I expected. Not because the priestesses dragged it out, but because tonight, Nathan wasn’t simply crowning leaders.

He was rebuilding our entire world as Alpha King.

Twelve Alpha positions stood empty after Silas’s war. Twelve broken packs were waiting for someone strong enough to hold them together before everything collapsed into chaos.

Nathan took every single choice seriously. Especially the sons.

Seven of the candidates were heirs of dead Alphas. They were young men standing beneath the memorial tree, wearing their fathers’ old ceremonial colors like armor that was still too heavy for their shoulders. Some looked terrified. Some looked angry. Others looked hungry for power.

And that was exactly why Nathan kept glancing at me during every oath.

Because I could feel them. Every lie, every fear, and every hidden crack beneath their masks.

The first son stepped forward, k