Lilian’s POV
The definitive clack of the heavy iron deadbolt sliding into place sounded like a gunshot echoing through the cavernous suite.
As Alexander’s footsteps faded down the stone corridor, I was left entirely alone in the heart of the Spire. For the first time since my violent transition in the woods, I was completely separated from my Alpha in a hostile territory teeming with hundreds of apex predators…wolves who would gladly tear me apart if they discovered what I truly was.
Closing my eyes, I took a slow, measured breath, drawing the stale, torch-lit air into lungs that no longer strictly needed it to survive.
Seventy beats per minute, I reminded myself.
Focusing inward, I found the dormant, heavy blood resting in my veins and forced it to pulse with the rhythmic, fragile th
