"Thank you, Alpha Blackthorn! Thank you for the pack's recognition! I will continue to serve faithfully and never disappoint this... special favor the pack has shown me!"
Scattered applause trickled through the crowd.
It was obvious—he wasn't well-liked here. The scent of disdain hung faintly in the air from several directions.
In her seat, Selene's face relaxed into a relieved smile. She clapped along, soft and measured.
Kael, brimming with self-satisfaction, couldn't wait any longer. His fingers attacked the silver ribbon.
They trembled slightly with excitement, and it took him several seconds to undo the elegant knot.
The velvet lid finally lifted.
The smile on his face froze solid the instant he saw what lay inside.
The ceremony master and the omega attendant, standing closest on the platform, saw it first.
The attendant's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes going wide as saucers.
The ceremony master's professional smile calcified into something almost comical—pure, undisguised shock.
The front rows began to see it too.
The whispers ignited like water hitting hot oil—a sharp sizzle, then a rapid spread into an uproar that could no longer be contained.
Someone adjusted the moonstone lantern. The pale beam tightened, centering on the carved wooden chest in Kael's hands.
No silver-tribute inside. No den-grant tokens. Nothing of value.
Just five chicken butts.
Cleaned and cooked, they gleamed with that distinctive pale-yellow sheen of braised meat. Arranged in a perfect circle on the white silk lining at the bottom of the chest.
Each one plump. Glistening with oil.
