Lucien
Lucien sat alone in his chamber, staring at the fire as it burned low. He had not taken off his cloak since returning. Snow still clung to it, damp and heavy, but he didn’t care.
He could still hear their whispers. They thought he didn’t hear, but he always heard.
The cursed Alpha.
The stranger girl.
The trial.
That word clung to him most of all. Trial. Nicholas had not wasted time spreading it. By dawn, the whole pack would know.
The word itself dragged him back to memories he had buried. He could see torches raised high, hear screams echoing in the night.
Wolves dragged into circles, forced to bleed before the pack, forced to prove themselves. He remembered being younger, standing beside his father as those trials tore packmates apart. His father’s face had been grim, eye
