Suddenly, doors began to fly open.
“Elyan!”
The voice cut clean through the frenzy.
Calm, precise, sharp.
Azpen stepped out from the shadows of the hall, his posture loose but his eyes locked on her, unflinching.
The tension in his voice was threaded with something heavier.
“On behalf of Alpha Baron—” his tone dipped lower, commanding—“stand down.”
Her chest heaved. The words clawed through the haze like iron hooks, dragging her back toward herself.
Her snarl cracked in her throat, breaking into a shuddering gasp.
The boys looked between them, uneasy now—not because of Elowyn alone, but because Baron’s shadow was suddenly in the room with them, spoken through Azpen.
Elowyn’s fingers trembled against the railing. She was still squatted like a predator ready to spring, but her eyes
