168

Bright

The air in Dante’s pack meeting room was heavy, so thick it felt like invisible smoke seeping into my lungs. I felt it on my skin, in every tense muscle, in the blood rushing too fast through my veins. I had spent years getting used to meetings like this, but nothing compared to this one. There was something darker here, something more personal in the atmosphere. And the worst part was that it all revolved around Sophia, even if no one dared to say it out loud.

She was beside me, trying to look composed, though I knew every single one of her gestures too well. Her fingers toyed with a lock of her hair, a tiny movement, almost invisible to anyone who didn’t know what it meant. But I did. It was nerves, anxiety, she was fighting to control, so she wouldn’t break down in front of everyone. It tore me apart to see her like this, fragile in the middle of a room full of wolves who seemed more eager to judge than to protect.

Two days had passed since Stefan’s death. Two days since th