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I laugh. I can’t help it. “No, baby. By default, only Mommy and Daddy can talk to you through the mindlink. That’s how it works.”

“Parents control who has access to their pups,” Darian adds. He’s still crouched, looking between both of them with the particular patience he reserves for explanations. “It’s a permission thing. Like a lock on a door. Mommy and I decide who gets the key.”

Alpha Rylan steps in. “The Big Four always retain emergency access, though. That’s non negotiable.”

“The Big Four?” Damian’s head snaps up. “Who’s that?”

“Hold on,” I say, holding up a hand. “Back up. Emergency access?”

“Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta,” Alpha Rylan says. “The four leadership pairs. We can mindlink any pack member, including pups, in an emergency. It’s part of the oath. Protecting every member of this pack is our responsibility, and that means we need to be able to reach everyone, always. Even if their parents aren’t available.”

Darian and I exchange a look. The instinct to bristle is there, the rogue reflex, the years of nobody gets near our pups, but the logic lands before the fear can.

“We’ll authorize teachers,” I say. “Healers. Active duty warriors on patrol. People who might need to reach the kids if something happens and we’re not there.”

“Exactly,” Darian says. “We’ll build a list. Carefully. But yes.”

Alpha Rylan nods. “Good. And if...” He pauses. Chooses his words with the care of a man who knows exactly how heavy they are. “If both parents pass away, the Alpha appoints a legal guardian. That guardian receives the same authority over pack permissions until the pups are old enough to manage their own.”

The silence that follows is brief but dense. Darian’s hand finds the small of my back. I don’t look at him. I don’t need to.

“And when do pups manage their own?” Damian asks. He’s watching Alpha Rylan with that cataloguing intensity again, filing every word.

“Thirteen,” Alpha Rylan says. “That’s when young wolves start taking junior positions... training, apprenticeships, pack duties. The bond opens up more as you earn independence. More permissions, more access, more responsibility.”

“One day,” Darian says, and his voice carries that particular weight it gets when he’s talking about the future he’s been rebuilding in his head for four years, “both of you will make those decisions yourselves. Who can reach you, who can’t. It’ll be yours to manage.”

Damian absorbs this. I can see the gears turning behind his eyes, the way he’s already mapping it, already building the architecture of his own autonomy at six years old. Darlene is quieter. She’s pressed against my leg, her small fingers twisted in the fabric of my jeans, but her eyes are on Alpha Rylan.

“Who are the Big Four?” Damian asks again. “You said Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta. Who are they?”

“Alpha pair, that’s Alpha Rylan and Luna Selena,” I tell him. “Beta pair is the second in command. Gamma is third. Delta is fourth.”

“Can we meet them?” Darlene asks.

Alpha Rylan and Luna Selena exchange a look. Something passes between them, quick, wordless, the kind of communication that only happens between true mates.

“Silver Moon doesn’t currently have a Beta pair or a Delta pair,” Alpha Rylan says. “The positions are open. We’re building the pack leadership from the ground up.”

“But we do have someone in mind for Gamma,” Luna Selena says. She’s leaning against the altar, arms crossed, and there’s something in her posture that’s shifted, less casual, more deliberate. The Luna voice, I realize. The one that lives beneath the jeans and the damp hair. “Joshua. Justin’s father. He’s been with Silver Moon for forty years. Patrol captain, war room strategist, one of the most respected wolves in the territory.”

“Justin,” Damian says. “The one who found us?”

“The one who found you,” Alpha Rylan confirms. “Joshua’s son. Good kid. Good bloodline.”

“So he’s going to be Gamma?” Darlene asks.

“We hope so,” Luna Selena says. “The Gamma induction is its own ceremony. Formal. The whole pack gathers, every wolf, every family, pups included. Joshua and his mate stand before the altar, take the oath, receive the rank. The bond adjusts. The pack feels it.” She pushes off the altar. “And that gathering is where you’ll be introduced too. Officially. As new members of Silver Moon.”

Damian’s eyes go wide. “The whole pack? Like...everyone?”

“Everyone,” Alpha Rylan says. “Every wolf who calls Silver Moon home. You’ll meet them all. Shake hands, learn names, let the bond do its work.”

“How many is everyone?” I ask. My voice comes out steadier than I expect.

“Five thousand and forty seven ,” Luna Selena says without hesitation. “Give or take. Pups included.”

Five thousand and forty seven wolves. I do the math without meaning to, Five thousand and forty seven minds on the bond, Five thousand and forty seven heartbeats humming behind my sternum, Five thousand and forty seven people who will now know my name, my face, my scent.