Seraphina
*****Crescent Valley Fortress — Same Morning*****
I knew something was wrong the moment the messenger ran into my quarters without knocking.
His face was pale. Sweaty. Terrified.
People were always terrified around me, but this was different.
This was fear of a disaster he didn’t know how to say out loud.
“What is it?” I snapped.
He gulped. “Alpha Chase… he….he saw something in the courtyard.”
My heartbeat jumped. “What something?”
He hesitated.
“I don’t pay you to stand and tremble like an i***t,” I barked. “Spit it out.”
He finally whispered, “Elena is here.”
Everything inside me froze.
Elena.
Alive.
Not dead in the wild.
Not buried under rogue attacks.
Alive. Standing. Breathing. Existing.
For a moment, the world spun, and I had to grip the edge of the table
