a P

a vacuum that was then filled by a ti

ace was no l

hastly, as

r the first time, I saw mu

alyzed, her l

but Garrison's gaze held her pi

her's shoulders, shaking her violently. "Mother!

firmed his guilt in t

cutting through the chaos. "

sacred relic used in the cente

Since the paternity of Esley Mercado is in question, he ha

my father's murderous face, then back at

ching my lips. "But we of the Whit

sm, sending a shiver of fea

his mother." I turned to the Pack's lawyer and scribe. "I d

scure, rarel

, legally binding them to their mother's

ld no longer be th

tard son of the mis

of it would be stripped away, leaving

he sound raw and animalistic. "

e, but froze as

ed, his voice a d

s, he acknowledged

e boy he had r

ation was

be scrambled to dra

.. Father! I am your s

Garrison, trying

m away with a snar

d withou

treated our people when they beg

ent was p

he Rite of Bloodline Reversion is invoked. Esley, from this day forth, is returned to the bloodline of his mother, E

nt light glowed fr

ded from the main branch, reappearing at the very bottom, un

espairing howl escaping his lips before

the floor, her fac

as o

ere fi

corner, shiverin

at me as if I

t not

rium

old, emp

the interest o

of the Ancestral Hall were

rfully built m

wore the bear-claw cre