The southern pack did not blend in.Even after being allowed to stay, they kept to themselves at the edge of the valley—watching, silent, guarded. Their Alpha, Darius, stood apart from even his own wolves, like a blade that refused to be sheathed.Lunaria noticed everything.The way he observed interactions between packs.The way his wolves stayed alert, even when no threat existed.The way he never once lowered his head—not to her, not to Kael, not to any Alpha.Kael noticed it too.“He’s waiting for this to fail,” Kael said one evening as they stood overlooking the valley.Lunaria nodded. “No. He’s expecting it to fail. There’s a difference.”Her wolf stirred. He does not know another way to live.Over the next few days, Darius tested the valley in subtle ways.He challenged boundaries—not violently, but deliberately. His wolves moved through shared areas without asking. They trained harder, louder, more aggressively than the others.Not breaking rules.But pushing them.Watching fo
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