Alera’s POV
Dread curled inside me like a coiled serpent, tightening its grip with each hesitant step I took toward the bed. My heart pounded against my ribs, an unsteady rhythm of fear and uncertainty. I had known this moment might come, had feared it in the darkest corners of my mind, but why now? Why when I had done everything in my power to prove my worth?
I thought I had escaped this fate. By undergoing training, by becoming useful to the clan in any way I could. But I had been foolish to believe that was enough.
I swallowed hard, forcing my hands to stay steady even as my body betrayed me with slight tremors. My ears strained for any movement in the dimly lit chamber, but there was nothing. No sound. No shift in presence. Yet, I knew he was still there. Watching. Waiting.
His pre
