Chapter 61. The Coronation

The first stones were laid at dawn.

Selene stood barefoot in the clearing where Spiritshade would rise, the earth cool and soft beneath her toes, the early light staining the mist gold. Around her, the world stirred slowly awake — not with fanfare or ceremony, but with a quiet reverence that felt more sacred than any ritual she had ever been forced to endure.

There were no banners.
No trumpets.
No throngs of wolves chanting her name.

Only a handful of those who had chosen to stay: Kael, the Northwind woman whose name she would later learn was Maerin, a scattering of the packless, and a few wolves from distant territories who had come after hearing whispers of the fall of the Council.

And Alaric.

Always Alaric.

He moved among the gathered wolves with an easy grace, sleeves rolled to his elbows, the bl