The miles blurred together.
Highway lines came and went beneath the SUV, the Texas horizon slowly giving way to New Mexico's dry stretches, then Arizona's broken rock and scrub. The sky shifted from pale morning to hard midday and finally to the orange-heavy glow of late afternoon.
Colton drove most of the way without complaint. Ronan didn't offer to take the wheel, and Hailey didn't ask. The silence in the vehicle was not comfortable, but it wasn't tense either. It was focused. All three of them knew where they were going and what waited for them when they arrived.
They crossed into California just as the sun began to dip lower. The road signs changed, but the scent of asphalt and dust stayed the same. Only when the scent of dense trees and ocean-salted air began to creep in did Ronan finally speak.
"Slow down," he said.
Colton eased off the gas. "We close?"
Ronan watched the tree line ahead. "We're entering Beacon Hills territory."
Hailey looked out the window, studying the thickening forest. "Small town, big secrets," she said. "Seems like the kind of place the Council would use without ever asking."
"They didn't ask," Ronan said. "They decided."
Colton snorted quietly. "That sounds right."
Beacon Hills proper was still miles away, but Ronan could already smell the difference in the air. Wolves had been here recently. Many wolves. Clinging to the edges of the forest, layered over the natural smells of pine, dirt, and distant rain.
Fifty Alphas would be coming. Fifty Seconds. Fifty druids. Even if none of them had arrived yet, the preparations alone left traces.
Ronan leaned forward slightly. "Take the next exit."
Colton obeyed without question, guiding the SUV off the main highway and onto a smaller, less traveled road. The asphalt gave way to cracked pavement, then to gravel and dirt. The deeper they went, the thicker the trees grew on either side, branches forming dark tunnels over the narrow path.
Hailey glanced at the map on her phone, not because she trusted it, but because she wanted to see how far from the town they were. "Council gave coordinates," she said. "The meeting site is a few miles outside Beacon Hills. Forest area. No official trails."
Ronan nodded to himself. "They chose well. Remote. Hidden. Easy to deny."
Colton followed the route until the road finally ended in a wide dirt turnoff that looked like it had once been used for logging or construction. Now it was empty.
Ronan could smell them as soon as the engine died.
Not faces. Not identities. Just scent.
Wolves had already arrived. At least a dozen Alphas, maybe more. Their scent clung to the air like a warning, layered over the undertone of something older. Something that made the hair on the back of a wolf's neck stand up for no logical reason.
The Nemeton.
He hadn't seen it yet. He didn't need to. He could feel, in a way that had nothing to do with magic, that they were near something unnatural.
Hailey opened her door and climbed out, boots crunching over dirt and leaves. Colton followed, rolling his shoulders to loosen the stiffness from the long drive.
Ronan stepped out last, closing the door with calm finality.
The silence out here felt different. Not ordinary quiet. It was the kind of silence that followed a threat, when animals went still and waited to see what happened next.
Hailey looked around, taking in the tree line, the faint scent of old sap and buried roots. "Feels heavy," she murmured.
"Feels like a lot of Alphas have been here already," Colton said.
Ronan scanned the area. He saw no one, but fresh tire tracks in the dirt told a clear story. Others had arrived ahead of them. The Council never announced exact times. They simply set a date and left the Alphas to come early, on time, or foolishly late.
Ronan never chose late.
"Grab what we need," he said. "We walk from here."
Hailey slung her satchel over her shoulder. Colton took a small pack with water, a flashlight, and a few basic supplies. No weapons. Those would have been pointless. An Alpha's body was their best weapon, and any obvious steel would be treated as an insult to the Council.
They moved into the trees, leaving the SUV behind. Ronan walked first, not because he didn't trust the others to lead, but because it was instinctive. Alphas didn't trail behind. They broke ground.
The forest grew darker the deeper they went. Natural light filtered through the branches in thin, fractured strands, painting the ground with pale, broken shapes. The air cooled, carrying the scent of damp earth and something else.
Old wood.
Old roots.
Old power.
No magic. No pulsing energy. Just the undeniable sense that this place mattered.
"The Nemeton used to be stronger," Hailey said quietly. "Before certain events. Sacrifices. Disasters. I've only ever read reports, but druid circles used to favor this land."
Colton shifted his pack strap. "And now?"
"Now it sleeps," Hailey said. "But it still remembers."
Ronan didn't comment. His instincts were prickling with every step. The wolf inside him was quiet, alert, sensing unfamiliar territory and heavier-than-normal dominance marks layered into the dirt. Every state Alpha that arrived would leave something of themself behind, even if they tried not to.
They walked in silence for several minutes, following a faint path that wasn't visible to human eyes. Ronan found it because he smelled where branches had been brushed recently, where feet had disturbed the undergrowth, where dirt had been displaced just enough to show that others had passed through.
Voices reached them before the clearing did.
Low, controlled, and guarded.
Ronan slowed, then stopped just before the tree line broke.
"Already gathering?" Colton asked under his breath.
"Not formally," Hailey said. "Alphas don't wait in the same place without a fight. Whatever's ahead is just a holding circle."
Ronan stepped forward.
The trees opened into a wide clearing ringed by dense trunks. The ground was hard, packed dirt with scattered rocks and a faint, carved line of mountain ash around the perimeter—thin, broken in places, present more as a reminder than a barrier.
At least fifteen people stood inside the circle. Some in small clusters, talking in low tones. Others alone, watching. Every one of them carried themselves with the kind of confidence that only came from ruling entire territories.
Several heads turned as Ronan appeared at the edge of the clearing.
Conversations went quiet, if not silent. The air shifted, not with magic, but with instinctive recalculation.
A stranger had arrived.
Not just any stranger.
An Alpha of a state.
Ronan stepped inside the ash line. It wasn't a boundary meant to keep him out. Not yet. It was more a mark of where the formal Gathering would later be established.
Colton fell in just behind him, Hailey slightly to the side.
One of the nearest Alphas broke away from her group and walked toward them. She was tall, with dark hair braided back, wearing a black jacket over a simple shirt and jeans. No unnecessary ornamentation. No obvious displays of wealth or status.
Valeria Kade, California's Alpha.
"Alpha Vael," she said in greeting.
Ronan gave a short nod. "Alpha Kade."
"You're early," she observed.
"So are you," he returned.
Her lips quirked slightly. "California doesn't like being the first one to show up to anything. But I wanted to see who else arrives before the Council Druid shows his face."
Her gaze flicked briefly to Colton, then to Hailey, assessing them without lingering. "Second. Druid."
"Colton Varric. Hailey Thorne," Ronan said simply.
They didn't offer hands. In this space, among this kind of company, handshakes were rare. Respect was shown in posture, in tone, in the way one Alpha didn't step too close to another without cause.
Valeria shifted her weight lightly. "They're gathering the rest near the Nemeton itself later. Right now we're… waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Colton asked.
"For everyone to arrive," Valeria said. "And for the Council Druid to decide we're ready to listen."
Hailey's eyes moved around the clearing, taking silent inventory. "How many so far?"
"Sixteen Alphas," Valeria said. "Including you. More seconds and druids, obviously. New York's here. Colorado. Florida. A few Midwestern states. No sign of the Council Druid yet."
"And New Mexico?" Ronan asked.
Valeria's eyes sharpened. She didn't miss the way he asked.
"Elias arrived last night," she said. "He's been pacing the tree line since dawn. He hasn't stepped into the circle yet."
Coward, Hailey's eyes seemed to say. She didn't voice it.
Ronan felt the corner of his mouth twitch—not a smile, but something close.
Of course Elias wouldn't come stand with the others yet. He'd be waiting for an entrance. Waiting for the perfect moment to assert himself. Waiting for eyes to be on him.
Ronan wasn't concerned.
Valeria looked at him more closely, as if measuring something that didn't quite line up with what she'd heard.
"They say you survived a hunter ritual," she said. Not mocking. Not cruel. Just curious.
Ronan's expression didn't change. "People say many things."
Valeria nodded once. She didn't push. She was smart enough to know that if an Alpha wanted to talk about something, they would. Asking twice only made you look desperate.
"Council Druid will likely call us to the Nemeton at sunset tomorrow," she said. "Until then, this clearing is neutral. No fights. No challenges. No posturing… in theory."
Colton glanced around, noting the stares from a few clusters. "Doesn't look like everyone got the message."
"Some did," Valeria replied. "Others are pretending."
Hailey shifted her satchel. "Has anyone spoken for the Chairs yet?"
Valeria shook her head. "No messages. No announcements. The only thing we all received was the same letter you did."
"That's enough," Ronan said.
Valeria studied him for a second longer, then inclined her head. "We'll talk again."
She turned and walked back to her group.
Colton leaned closer to Ronan. "She seems reasonable."
"She's careful," Hailey said. "There's a difference."
Ronan said nothing.
He could feel eyes on him from other corners of the clearing. Some Alphas regarded him with guarded curiosity. Others with open distrust. A few with thinly veiled contempt.
Word had traveled.
Not about who he was before.
But about what he survived.
New York's Alpha, Soren Vayne, watched him from across the circle, talking quietly with his Second and his druid. Colorado's Alpha, Dana Stormwild, stood with her arms folded, expression unreadable, but her gaze occasionally drifting toward him.
Then Elias arrived.
His scent reached Ronan before he saw him. Bitter, sharp, tinged with old anger. The kind of smell that clung to a wolf who hadn't let go of something in a very long time.
Elias stepped out of the trees on the far side of the clearing, alone at first. His Second and druid followed at a distance, flanking but not touching. He walked with his shoulders tight, his jaw clenched, his eyes burning with something that was not calm, measured dominance.
He paused at the edge of the ash line.
His gaze swept the gathering, not really seeing most of them. He was looking for one person.
He found Ronan in seconds.
The clearing went quiet again, but no one moved. No one stepped between them. No one spoke.
Elias's lips pulled back slightly, not in a smile.
"Alpha Vael," he said.
Ronan met his eyes. "Alpha Crowe."
No aggression in his tone. No apology. No acknowledgment of the last time they met. The words could have been exchanged by strangers.
Elias held his stare like he was trying to crush stone with his teeth.
"You came," he said.
"As did you," Ronan replied.
Something flickered across Elias's face—frustration that Ronan remained so calm. He stepped over the ash line, entering the clearing fully. His Second and druid followed, neither of them speaking.
Colton shifted slightly, body positioning itself between Ronan and Elias without blocking either completely. Hailey stayed a half-step back, watching everything, storing every detail.
Elias stopped at a distance that was just barely respectful. Too close for some. Close enough to provoke if anyone was looking for an excuse.
His eyes burned red at the edges.
"Enjoy your last peaceful day," Elias said quietly.
Ronan regarded him with that same steady, unshaken gaze. "You assume it will be peaceful."
Elias smiled without humor. "For me, it will be."
He turned and walked away without waiting for a response, moving toward a cluster of Alphas who pretended not to have been listening.
Colton let out a slow breath. "Subtle," he muttered.
Hailey's mouth curved slightly. "He's rattled. Rattled wolves make mistakes."
Ronan watched Elias's back for a moment longer, then turned his attention away.
"He's made his choice," Ronan said. "We'll answer when the time comes."
Colton nodded.
Hailey's gaze drifted toward the direction beyond the trees, where the Nemeton itself lay unseen but not unimportant.
"When the Council Druid calls us to the tree," she said, "there will be rules. No one can challenge during the opening rites. No one can interrupt the roll. The law will hold for a while."
"And after?" Colton asked.
"After," Hailey said softly, "the law will allow what it's always allowed."
Challenges.
Fights.
Blood.
Succession.
Ronan stood in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by some of the strongest wolves in the country, and felt none of the fear others would have in his position.
Only the quiet awareness that something he had not yet shown the world waited under his skin.
Not magic.
Not a curse.
Not a gift.
Just an evolution.
The Reaver Form shifted faintly inside him, like a wolf stretching in its sleep.
Soon, it seemed to say.
Ronan pushed it down.
Not yet.
The Council hadn't met. The challenges hadn't begun. The Nemeton hadn't seen what it would see.
For now, there were only Alphas waiting.
Seconds watching.
Druids observing.
The Gathering of States had not officially started.
But it was close.
Very close.
And when it did begin, the world these Alphas knew would not end—
—but it would change.
"Come on," Ronan said finally. "We wait with the rest."
Colton and Hailey fell into step behind him.
In the center of the clearing, among the watching eyes of rulers and survivors, Ronan took his place and waited for the Council Druid to arrive.
The Council had called.
Soon, the Nemeton would, too.