51. Nero Epilogue Two

I lean back in my chair, watching Nereo on the floor in front of my desk, pushing his toy cars back and forth across the hardwood. He’s deep in concentration, his little face scrunched up as he mimics the sound of an engine, totally absorbed in his own world. It makes me smile, seeing him like this. So carefree. So innocent.

It reminds me of when I was his age, sitting in this same office, playing with my own set of cars while my father worked. I used to look up to him like he was untouchable, this larger-than-life figure who always knew what to do. He was my hero. I wanted to be just like him.

But I also remember the day everything changed. The day I became Alpha.

In our pack, the transition isn’t something that’s handed down peacefully. It’s a fight—brutal, bloody, and final. The son challenges the father, and if the son wins, he has to... finish it. Rip out the heart and consume it.

It’s a ritual that’s been in the Leonetti pack since the beginning, meant to symbolize the passing o