Four months had passed in a steady, quiet routine, bringing Odesse to her fifth month of pregnancy. The early days of exhaustion had faded, replaced by the distinct, heavy weight of the child growing inside her.
Valex had been gone for nearly four weeks, summoned across the kingdoms for the mandatory High Council Summit—a month-long assembly where Alphas debated territory treaties and trade laws directly with the High Chief. In his absence, the daily governance of the Moonlight Pack fell to his council. While Odesse held no formal political ambitions, she was the highest royal authority left in the palace, meaning that the final word on domestic matters occasionally landed on her desk.
On this particular morning, the sun cast long shadows across the polished floor of the small council chamber. Odesse sat at the head of the long oak table, her posture slightly adjusted to accommodate her prominent belly, one hand resting on the thick velvet of her gown.
