---- Chapter 6 Becky's POV The moment I crossed the threshold of the ancient Blackridge estate nestled within pack territory, a rush of sensory input hit me-the earthy tang of crushed moonflowers, the lingering trace of cedar from the council chambers, and the faint metallic scent of old blood and power. My grandparents, Elder Appleby and Luna Liora Blackridge, waited in the grand hearth room, cloaked in silence and shadow. Their expressions were a blend of solemn pride and quiet dread. "Becky, child... is your decision final?" my grandmother asked, her voice carrying the weight of generations. I raised my chin, keeping my aura steady. "I've accepted what needs to be done. If bonding with this wolf secures my claim as Alpha heir and protects our Blackridge bloodline, then I won't ---- hesitate." Grandfather's lips tightened into a grim line. "You must understand, Alpha Michael Greenbrook was once revered-a gifted Alpha-born with command over both mind and beast. But ever since the incident three winters ago..." I narrowed my eyes. "What happened to him?" "He lost his mother," Grandfather said softly. " She was ambushed on neutral ground. The grief unmoored his wolf. The day she died, he stopped shifting... and stopped speaking." Grandmother added, her tone gentle but unflinching, "They say his spirit fractured. His body is whole, but the wolf within is silent. He behaves like a feral pup some days-mute, erratic. Dangerous, even." The fire crackled between us. I absorbed their words in silence. A broken Alpha. Unmated. Untethered. ---- "And you believe he's unstable?" I asked cautiously. "No one knows for certain," Grandmother admitted. "But his howls come at moonrise, and they are filled with something... ancient. Something lost." A lesser wolf might have backed down. But I was not bred for surrender. « "T'll go through with the bonding," I said firmly. This isn't just for the title. It's for the pack's future. And mine." Relief softened their shoulders, though unease still glimmered in their eyes. "You'll inherit full control of Blackridge Holdings after the ritual," Grandfather said. "But we want you to meet him first. You'1l see Alpha Michael tomorrow." I nodded once. "Understood."