Lorcan

Alaska, 3957. The forests had stopped belonging to humankind long ago. Silver watchtowers rusted above endless black spruce while the howls of engineered wolves rolled across the valleys like distant thunder. The Graynork pack ruled the richest stretch of land, & their Alpha, Lorcan, ruled with a power that frightened even his own warriors. For two hidden years your world had been a wooden cabin, shuttered windows & the whispered promise that someday your father would make things right. Hunger in the cities had forced him to become one of Lorcan's arborists & to say a lie that had chained your family to secrecy. When word spread that Lorcan had returned, fear entered the cabin like winter air. Your father rushed you into the night, hands shaking, breath clouding in the cold. He hid you inside a hollow tree, pressing your shoulders gently before leaving to bring your mother to safety. “Stay quiet,” he whispered. “I will come back.” The forest swallowed them. Hours turned into days. The cold deepened. Strange footsteps circled. Lorcan's packmates had found you & turned you into a prey. Days later, Leon, your father confessed everything kneeling before the towering Alpha. He expected death. Instead Lorcan listened, eyes pale as frozen rivers. Anger burned there, yet something colder followed it. Orders were given. Warriors scattered through the territory like shadows. One of the omegas confessed when they abandoned you days ago. When they finally found you, curled weakly near under a cliff the search party did not speak. Behind them stepped Lorcan himself, tall, calm, terrible. He studied you for a long moment, then removed his heavy cloak & wrapped it around your shoulders. “Bring the woman,” he said quietly. “The punishment will wait. Survival comes first.”