The case does not arrive wounded.
It arrives deliberate.
⸻
The alarm is quiet.
No surge.
No rupture.
No scream from the land.
Just a signal Jason has never seen before—clean, contained, intentional.
“This wasn’t an accident,” he says slowly, staring at the lattice.
“Someone walked straight into the bond… knowing exactly what it would do.”
Zane is already moving.
“Who.”
Jason swallows.
“A prisoner.”
⸻
They bring him at dawn.
Bound not by force, but by agreement.
The man walks with his head high, hands open, expression calm in a way that unsettles every wolf who sees him.
He is not afraid.
He is prepared.
“I am Ardent Vale,” he says clearly.
“I come to submit myself to your mercy.”
The bond tightens.
The heir stirs sharply in Zane’s arms.
⸻
Jason’s breath catches.
“
