Callum’s second birthday falls on a clear autumn afternoon, the kind where the light turns everything gold and the air smells like woodsmoke and fallen leaves.The entire pack has come.They fill the big clearing behind the lodge—enforcers, elders, healers, the younger wolves who still tumble over each other like oversized puppies. Tables are loaded with food. Someone has strung simple lights between the trees. A ridiculous number of balloons bounce against the branches every time the wind moves. Callum stands in the middle of it all in a tiny blue sweater, cheeks flushed, eyes bright, and announces his opinions at full volume to anyone who will listen.Rowena sits on a low bench nearby, directing traffic with the calm authority of someone who has raised half the pack. She catches my eye over the crowd and smiles—the soft, knowing smile she has worn more easily these past months. When Callum barrels into her legs for the tenth time, she lifts him without complaint and settles him on he
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