this is gospel

The torrent of words flustered the young king, and the tips of his ears flushed with embarrassment. "I... yes. I'm Kassander Xanilov," he said faintly before clearing his throat and speaking somewhat more strongly in an effort to sound slightly less like a child and more like the alpha he was supposed to be. "Valeriya is my sister. She did rule here but she left Ebony to me when she left to travel." He tried not to shift around on his feet despite the discomfort of explaining why he was alpha, and not his sister, especially to an old Ebony wolf. After all, in old Ebony it would have been unthinkable for him to have taken the rule of the pack while he still had three living sisters and his mother was still alive, yet here he was.