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Quick, quick, think of something disgusting: public toilets, bed bugs, vomit on the pavement, pulling hair out of our blocked shower drain!

By the time I finally dared to look up, Astrid was watching me with a small, knowing smile. Thankfully, she said nothing about what had just happened and simply gestured to the chair beside her.

“Come and sit with us, Elowen.”

Thank you!

I followed her across a large dark rug towards a group of oversized chairs. The ceiling rose several storeys above us, and sunlight from the tall windows fell across an enormous tapestry worked in midnight blue, grey and silver.

Around us, conversations gradually started again as the other women settled back into their seats. I took the chair Astrid had indicated and smoothed my skirt over my knees, trying to remember everything Eleanor had taught me about meeting the senior women of a Great House.

An attendant poured tea while another arranged bread, fruit, and small pastries within reach on the tables. They moved around one another so easily that they’d clearly done this hundreds of times before.

“Elowen,” Astrid said once I’d taken a sip of my tea, “allow me to introduce Maren Frostmere, Senior Beta of Frostmere Pack and mother to Lucien and Darius.”

Maren inclined her head. “A new light to you, Lady Elowen. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“And to you, my lady.”

“And Helena Ironhart, Senior Beta of Ironhart Pack and mother to Leon.”

Helena smiled, and I immediately recognised the warmth around her eyes. Leon had definitely inherited that from her.

“Welcome to High Mountain, my dear. We are very pleased to have you amongst us.”

“Thank you.”

Astrid turned towards a younger woman with a baby asleep against her shoulder. “And this is Leenah Stormlaw, Senior Beta of Stormlaw Pack, and her daughter, Neetah.”

“My eldest, Elias, is Leenah’s First Alpha,” Maren added, looking fondly at her granddaughter.

She was the cutest baby, with chubby cheeks, thick lashes and dark hair. Her little fist rested over her mum’s chest.

“She’s beautiful,” I said.

Leenah smiled down at her daughter. “That is very kind of you. Thank you.”

Astrid turned back to me. “How have you found High Mountain so far, Elowen? I hope our welcome did not prove too overwhelming after such a difficult journey.”

“A bit overwhelming,” I admitted. “But the mountains are incredible, and everyone seems so fearless.”

I leaned closer to Astrid, and she leaned towards me too.

“I saw people having coffee halfway up a cliff. They were just sitting there, completely at ease, as though a strong gust of wind couldn’t just…” I waved my hand towards the side. “…blow them straight off the edge.”

Astrid burst out laughing, and the rest of the women joined her.

“Our children are taught from a very young age to respect the heights rather than fear them,” Helena explained. “I imagine the experience is rather different for someone who was not raised amongst them.”

“I’m afraid it might take me a while to get used to it. Maybe a few years,” I admitted shamelessly.

Maren smiled. “That is a common experience amongst newcomers, I assure you. Even seasoned Alpha dignitaries have been known to struggle with our heights.”

“Some conceal their fear more successfully than others,” Helena added, “but their scents invariably betray them. We have been known to make the occasional wager amongst ourselves.”

“Although naturally we would never confess to such a thing,” Leenah said with a smile.

“Alphas and their ever-delicate pride,” Astrid remarked, drawing another round of laughter from the women.