Chapter 294

• Jaxon
• I requested the meeting with my mother formally, in her study, rather than allowing the conversation to happen the way she preferred, casually and on her terms, where she could steer the outcome before I'd finished stating my position.
• "I'm stepping back from the Alpha-in-waiting track," I told her. "I've asked the council to consider me for acting Beta instead. I want to earn whatever authority I eventually hold, rather than have it arranged for me through engagements and alliances I never actually chose."