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I smooth Darlene's hair away from her face. She's losing her battle with sleep, her eyes already closed again.

“There will always be ambition,” Luna Selena continues. “Greed. Jealousy. Different beliefs. Different personalities. We're never going to create some perfect world where everybody agrees and lives in harmony every second.”

“Definitely not.”

She laughs. “Definitely not. But loving each other is still better than hurting each other. And when love is too difficult, we can at least start with not causing harm.”

I look at my daughter sleeping against me, then toward the path where the other shewolves disappeared.

Together, we could be terrifying. An unstoppable force.

Good, my wolf murmurs.

For once, I completely agree.

21

Darian's POV

Arlene looks back at me as the shewolves follow Luna Selena toward the other side of the gathering. I smile at her, but Damian grabs my hand before I can watch her for much longer.

“Come on, Dad.”

“I’m coming.”

“You’re walking slow.”

“We’ve been separated from them for less than thirty seconds.”

Damian shrugs and pulls me toward the male wolves gathering around Rylan. Joshua is already beside him with Justin and Jace nearby. Warriors drag benches closer while fathers settle with their pups. Teenagers gather with friends, Elders claim chairs, and male wolves from every rank fill the open space.

I glance toward the seasoned warriors we ate with earlier. One catches me looking and shakes his head. “Don’t look at me. This is new.”

Another warrior laughs. “Apparently Alpha and Luna aren’t finished with us yet.”

Damian climbs onto the bench beside me. I keep one hand behind his back while conversations overlap around us. Someone argues about the triathlon. A group of younger male wolves laugh loudly enough to drown out the conversation beside them.

Rylan steps forward.

“Quiet.”

Silence drops over the gathering.

One younger wolf elbows his friend when he keeps whispering, and the friend immediately shuts his mouth.

My wolf pushes closer. Alpha.

I know.

Rylan looks over us. “Before we start, I’m going to make something clear. This will probably be the first and maybe the only time I give all of you permission to be this casual with me. Tonight, I want a conversation. I want honest answers. Any disagreements? Tell me. If you have questions for me, ask them. If you think I’m wrong about something, tell me.” A cocky smile pulls at his mouth. “Which, for the record, I rarely am.”

Joshua gives an exaggerated gasp. “An Alpha? Wrong? Oh, couldn’t be.”

Laughter rolls through the male wolves.

Rylan chuckles. “See? My Gamma understands.”

“Always, Alpha.”