Kaelen let out a sob. He buried his face in her neck, weeping openly. The tension of a decade, the fear of extinction, the weight of the crown—it all broke.
"Thank you," he wept into her skin. "Thank you, Moon Mother. Thank you."
Roxy stroked his hair, smiling through her own exhaustion.
The moment the sun crested over the trees, Kaelen stepped out onto the porch of the King's Cabin. He threw his head back and let out a howl that shook the entire forest, that could be heard from afar.
It was like a song. A deep, resonant, vibrating sound of pure triumph that echoed in the marrow of everyone who heard it.
[Ding!]
[Clan Morale: Maximum.]
[Pack Status: Ecstatic.]
Roxy walked out behind him, wrapping her robe tight against the morning chill. She watched as every door in the new settlement flew open. Wolves tumbled out of their cabins, shifting mid-stride or running in human form, their faces alight with a hope Roxy hadn't seen since she arrived.
