Before I could demand more details about the winged beast, the heavy, rhythmic thud of steel-toed boots echoed up the spiraling stone staircase. Callum emerged from the shadows of the lower landing. The Lycan King was an imposing, terrifying vision of dark leather and raw, unbridled authority. His chiseled features were set in a hard, commanding line, and his piercing steel-gray eyes immediately locked onto me. The air in the corridor grew incredibly dense, heavy with the intoxicating scent of pine and dark musk. He dismissed his Beta with a single, sharp tilt of his head. Lochlan bowed deeply and vanished down the hall without another word, leaving me entirely alone with the towering monarch who had claimed me before the entire world.
Callum closed the distance between us in three massiv
