Thora paused for a moment and swept her eyes across the crowd. Everyone looked tense. Then she added, clear and steady, "For the next two years, I'll be away on missions. I won't be able to stay in the pack all the time. The elders will handle pack affairs for now. But no one can take what belongs to me." The instant her words fell, her werewolf power burst forth like a wave. It wasn't just her wolf spirit. It was the authority of a major general layered on top of it—cold, heavy, and overwhelming. The pressure pushed down on everyone's chest until they could barely breathe. Marlon had once declared that the moment she became an adult and awakened her wolf spirit, she would inherit the Alpha position. Now both conditions had been met. It was time to take back what was already hers. And this was also the promise she made to the original Thora when she was reborn. She would safeguard everything she deserved. "W-What gives you the right?" Laurel stammered. Even as she trembled under Thora's pressure, greed still pushed her to speak. "Marlon's decree had changed! And you've been gone for almost two years. By the pack laws, your right of inheritance should've shifted. I'm telling you, the inheritance right should go to my son!" Hazel jumped in with a mocking tone, "Mom's right. Thora, you act like all the good things in the world belong to you. I know you were jealous when Caleb dumped you and chose me, but is that my fault? You're just not likable. What? Did you come back to get revenge? Grandpa is basically a vegetable now; he'll never wake up again. You think anyone's here to protect you?" She barely finished talking before—SMACK! A loud slap sent Hazel stumbling. She almost fell flat on the floor. Shirley stood there with her arms crossed and let out a dark, eerie smile. "And who do you think you are? Thora hasn't even spoken yet. You think you get to speak?"Who is she? Hazel fixed her gaze on Shirley and finally recognized her. Two years ago, this was the girl who came looking for Thora and whom Hazel had personally kicked out. "You bitch!" Hazel struggled to get up, wanting to fight back. But when she met Shirley's sharp, vicious glare, she shrank back in fear. She then turned to Caleb, hoping for support, her face twisted with hurt and anger. Caleb only gave her a cold glance. Finally, Thora seemed to have the time to acknowledge Hazel. She tilted her head slightly, looked at her and said curtly, "You deserve that?" As if Hazel deserved Thora's jealousy. As if she were worthy to speak up in front of her. Just three words, yet far more powerful than any full sentence. "Enough! Both of you, quiet!" Norman roared, his voice low and sharp. The Lawsons stayed silent. This was the Silverleaf Pack internal affairs, and it was not their place to step in. Laurel finally shut her mouth. But the way she looked at Thora—fear mixed with pure hatred—didn't change. Norman forced down his anger and spoke to Thora. "Thora, you're a soldier now. An officer. I won't argue about the past anymore. "But about the pack's inheritance right, Laurel wasn't wrong. According to the law, if the heir of a military family goes missing for two years, the inheritance can be transferred to the next blood relative." The empire created that law because they feared a pack would collapse if a military family heir died while on assignment. Thora let out a cold laugh and stood up. "Two years? If I'm not mistaken, it's only been one year and eleven months since I left Astralis." She looked directly at Norman, her voice calm but icy. "And the same law, Section 325 of the Pack Inheritance Code states that if the missing heir returns after two years, the inheritance still belongs to them." Norman froze. He never expected Thora to know the law better than he did. He had no way to argue back. Thora leaned slightly forward and rebuked, "What's wrong? Are you disappointed I didn't die out there?" Yes. They were disappointed. But they could never say it to her face. Norman glared at her, eyes bloodshot with fury. "Even so, the current Alpha of the Silverleaf Pack already changed the succession decree. He named a new heir. It's Alfie, not you! With that alone, you have no right to inherit the Alpha position!" Alfie Green was Norman and Laurel's baby son. The boy was barely a year old and currently asleep in the back room with the nanny. If Alfie became heir, Norman, as the guardian, would control the pack and military resources. Laurel, hearing this, immediately chimed in. "Your father is right. Marlon signed the papers himself. The lawyers and the elders all approved it. Thora, someone as cold as you, someone who dared kill the stepmother who raised you, is capable of everything. "Letting someone like you lead the pack would be a disaster! Everything would fall apart under you!" Laurel was acting up again. Thora finally looked at her. Her gaze was icy enough to freeze bone. "Right," she said softly. "That brings me to the second reason I came today. I'm here to clean house."