Three days passed while they remained in the valley.
After three long days spent caring for those hurt, grieving lives lost, now comes the slow work - rebuilding how a whole people are led.
One after another, the fifteen Council Alphas opened their eyes. A few met the moment with resistance. Others simply accepted what came. Each sensed the fifth bond without needing proof - felt how the Quintessence had locked itself into the weave, shutting any chance of cutting it again. Not this time.
Morgana broke the silence. The words came out before anyone else could move.
"You've made yourself indispensable," she said to Sage. Her tone was bitter but not hostile. "Every wolf on the continent can feel you now. If we kill you, we damage the network. If we imprison you, same result. You've checkmate us by making yourself the heart of the system."
"That wasn't strategy," Sage said. "That was survival. The ritual was going to destroy the bonds. I stopped it the only way I could."
