I stared at the map spread across the table, my brow tightening without me realizing it.It was the newest territorial draft, completed only weeks ago after months of painstaking work. The borders were marked in bold, dark lines. Mountain ridges, rivers, and dense forests were divided into distinct color blocks. Strategic locations were annotated with careful precision—high ground, blind spots, water crossings, natural choke points. The cartographer had devoted nearly half a year to it, and my father had rewarded him with a sum generous enough to spark quiet envy among the pack.Now the map lay across the center of the conference table like a chessboard waiting for the next move—waiting, perhaps, to have our fate rewritten upon it.The meeting room was crowded. Father had summoned every core member of the pack: senior warriors, the B
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