Chapter 2 - Shadows of Pine Hollow
News of the miraculous discovery at Blackwood Keep spread through the northern territories like wildfire. In the shadows of Pine Hollow, the pack alpha, General Morgran, smashed a heavy wooden goblet against the hearth, cursing the incompetence of his council.
"You let her slip through our fingers?" Morgran bellowed, towering over his trembling scouts. "Those pups and that girl hold the key to the ancestral vaults of the North! If the Alpha King validates her bloodline, Pine Hollow loses its charter, its land, and its sovereign immunity!"
"My Alpha," a scarred scout stammered, "the King’s guards have locked down every border pass. We cannot simply march into Blackwood Keep."
"Then we don't march," Morgran smiled darkly, revealing sharp canines. "We invite ourselves as grieving pack members demanding the return of our 'lost citizen.' Public opinion in the northern alliance favors tradition. If we play our cards right, Alexander Cole will be forced by law to hand her over to a formal pack tribunal."
Back at Blackwood Keep, Alexander poured over the stolen archival document he had recovered from Richard Voss. The parchment was brittle, yellowed with age, bearing the royal seal of the First King. It detailed a prophecy and a bloodline pact that bound the White Wolf lineage directly to the throne of the unified northern packs.
"It wasn't just a random abandonment," Alexander told his chief advisor in the war room. "Pine Hollow knew exactly what Grace's family carried. They suppressed her scent, falsified her omega status, and kept her enslaved as an outcast for years so no one would ever look twice at her."
May you like
"And the pups, Your Majesty?" the advisor asked gravely.
"They are the true heirs to the northern throne," Alexander replied, his eyes flashing with golden alpha fire. "And Grace is their protector... and mine."
