I considered every struggle, every treachery, every sacrifice that had taken us to this juncture. Though the wounds of the past threatened to overwhelm me, I knew that in the face of darkness our strength was measured not by our capacity to escape suffering but by our will to rise above it. I closed my hands and felt the Crescent Mark swell once more—raw power. Along with survival, I would battle for the future of every wolf in our pack—a future free from the bonds of betrayal and the cycles of hopelessness.