21

“What uh, what do you mean Joal?” Joe asked hesitantly.

Joal’s eyes didn’t leave me. I was standing a few steps back from Nov and her father, my hands in my pockets as I let them engage. I wasn’t sure what to say necessarily, but I knew that this would be one of those moments that defined a lot of what was to come. I felt a need to tell them my name, to show who I was. My wolf wanted to claim it, take it back and this entire pack with it the longer we stood in these walls. I wasn’t as far down the rabbit hole as he was, but I did know I was on the right trail.

“Remington Calloway, nice to meet you,” I told him as I stepped forward and extended my hand to Joal. He didn’t hesitate to take it and shake it firmly. I saw a sort of questioning in his eyes, a test. Something I was sure I would face a lot here with the ones who knew my father and would wonder who I was compared to him. The other three elders sucked in breaths as I said my full name but I didn’t take my eyes off Joal.

“He foun