CHAPTER 142

Sebastian POV

Tension was high, a real sensation of fear hanging over our area like a suffocating blanket. Our hard-fought fragile peace had been destroyed by the rogues' invasion, and now we were perilously close to open war.

I looked across the jumbled group of seasoned veterans and fresh-faced newbies as I moved through the ranks of our assembled fighters. With determination and fear mixed together, the erstwhile Silver Moon wolves stood shoulder to shoulder with the Nightwalkers.

I understood this would be their crucible, the time when they would be asked to establish themselves among us and demonstrate their worth and allegiance in the furnace of combat. Seeing our united ranks made me proud in a way that was only natural given the tenacity and unflinching character that had seen us through the worst of circumstances.

But even as I reveled in the brightness of our rekindled friendship, a persistent uncertainty bitched at the margins of my mind. I understood, after all, that the r