The Alpha estate was quieter than usual that afternoon. The air, usually alive with the soft hum of activity, now felt still, as though the whole place was holding its breath. The footsteps of the guards, the distant sound of conversations, and the murmur of advisors all seemed muffled. It wasn’t peaceful. It was a charged silence, heavy with unspoken things, like the calm before a storm that had already passed.
Xander Stone walked slowly through the halls of his estate, each step deliberate but heavy, like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. His jaw still ached from the battle in the arena, but that pain was nothing compared to the emptiness gnawing at him from the inside.
Just hours ago, Aria had stood in front of the council, calm and unyielding, as she turned away from t
