Chapter 77 Where We Belong
Chapter 77 Where We Belong
One year later, Silverpine no longer felt like a pack recovering from change.
The changes had settled into something permanent.
It showed in small things first.
Omega wolves now trained openly within the warrior program instead of being pushed toward support duties. Two had already earned promotions based on skill alone, not bloodline or rank.
Council meetings sounded different too. Younger wolves questioned traditions without lowering their voices halfway through.
Older council members still pushed back sometimes, arguing the way they always had, but the certainty behind those arguments had weakened. Traditions were no longer accepted simply because they had existed for generations.
The difference could be felt in nearly every meeting now. Wolves spoke more openly than they once did. Younger members questioned decisions without fear settling over the room afterward.
Silverpine still had disagreements. Change had not erased that.
But fear no longer controlled every conversation the way it once had.
And beyond Silverpine, the changes were beginning to spread.
Four neighboring packs had officially abolished their cross-rank mating laws during the past year. None of them admitted they had been pressured into reconsidering old customs, but the timing spoke loudly enough on its own.
Other wolves had started arriving quietly over the months.
Some transferred permanently. Others only stayed briefly before moving on again.
Most came for the same reason.
Possibility.
Here, rank no longer decided the limits of a wolf’s future before they even had the chance to choose it for themselves.
Freda still noticed the irony sometimes.
A few years ago, Silverpine would have answered disagreement with threats, patrols, and warnings disguised as tradition.
Now packs hired mediators instead.
On a quiet Tuesday evening, Freda sat alone in the Luna’s study reviewing a formal request from a pack nearly three hundred miles away.
Another territorial dispute.
Another border slowly moving toward violence because neither side wanted to appear weak enough to compromise first.
The evening light pooled softly across the floorboards while she read through the proposal one final time.
The Alpha writing the request sounded tired more than aggressive. Freda had learned to recognize the difference quickly.
Outside the study windows, dusk settled gradually over the territory below. Warm lights flickered between the trees while distant voices carried faintly through the open crack in the window.
The house itself felt calm tonight.
Lived in.
Freda closed the final document and opened a reply.
Her acceptance was direct and professional. She listed her conditions clearly, outlined her schedule, and included her consultation fees without softening any of it.
Experience had taught her something important over the past few years.
Wolves respected certainty faster than politeness.
She reached the end of the message and paused briefly.
Then she added one final line.
I should mention that I am also the Luna of a pack, a mother, and a mate. I will not be available for anything that compromises those commitments. If those terms suit you, I look forward to speaking with you.
Freda read it once.
Then she sent the message and closed the laptop.
The soft click echoed lightly through the room.
For a moment, the study stayed quiet.
Then Liam’s voice rang somewhere down the hallway.
“That still counts.”
“It absolutely does not,” Lucian answered immediately.
Freda smiled before she realized she was doing it.
“You changed the rules halfway through.”
“I adapted to the situation.”
“That’s cheating.”
A low laugh escaped Lucian then, brief and familiar enough that Freda felt something inside her loosen automatically at the sound.
Footsteps moved quickly overhead.
Then silence.
Then another set of footsteps moving much slower.
Freda already knew which one belonged to Lucian.
A second later, Liam stood in the study doorway.
He had grown noticeably over the past year, tall enough now that Freda sometimes had to look up a little too quickly. Training had broadened his shoulders, but he still carried restless energy everywhere he went, like his body moved faster than his thoughts could fully catch up with.
“You’re working again,” he said
Freda leaned back slightly in her chair. “I just finished.”
“That’s what you said before dinner yesterday.”
“Yesterday was a different day.”
“That feels manipulative somehow.”
Lucian stepped in behind him carrying two wooden training knives.
“You threw one of these at me earlier,” he said.
“I missed,” Liam answered quickly.
Lucian didn’t argue, just looked at him.
Liam exhaled and shifted his gaze to Freda. “He’s exaggerating.”
Freda didn’t respond. She simply watched him.
That was enough to make Liam groan and drop into the chair across from her desk.
The room settled after that, the kind of quiet that came easily now, without effort.
Lucian’s eyes moved to Freda. “Consultation?”
“I accepted it.”
A brief pause followed.
Liam muttered, “Of course you did.”
Freda leaned back slightly, observing both of them without speaking.
Lucian’s gaze lingered on her a moment longer than necessary.
“The house feels different,” he said quietly.
Liam frowned. “Different how?”
“Lighter,” Lucian said.
Freda didn’t answer, but something in her expression softened slightly. She felt it too.
A quiet beat passed.
“Dinner,” she said at last, standing.
Liam followed first.
Lucian held the door open for her.
They left the study together, and the silence behind them didn’t feel empty anymore, just calm, settled, and lived in.