Chapter 6

Kade

A few hours earlier

I had sat at the council table and tried to convince myself I had made the right decision.

The meeting should have been simple. Rogue movements. Patrol rotations. Alpha Tiernan’s upcoming visit.

Problems I understood.

Problems that did not involve Abby Hayes.

Instead, my mind kept returning to her. Her face after the rejection. The way she had looked at me before accepting it. The emptiness where the bond had been ever since.

Knox had barely stopped pacing.

“Alpha?”

I looked up. One of the elders was watching me.

“With Luna Cassandra stepping back from more of the day-to-day responsibilities, the pack will soon need certainty regarding its future.”

I already knew where this was going.

The elder continued, “Do you intend to choose a Luna?”

Every eye shifted toward Sloane. She remained perfectly still.

Before Abby, I would not have hesitated.

I folded my ha