The doors to the Alpha’s quarters closed with a sound too final to be comforting.
Mira stood just inside, muscles tight, senses flaring. The space was vastly larger than any dwelling she’d ever seen but it didn’t feel luxurious. It felt occupied, marked. The air carried Ryker’s scent strongly here: pine, smoke, something sharp and wild beneath. It wrapped around her like an invisible net.
“This is unnecessary,” she said flatly.
“It’s the law,” Ryker replied.
She turned on him. “Law already stripped me of choice. Now it strips me of privacy too?”
Ryker exhaled slowly, the sound controlled but strained. “After the Stay, the council demanded additional safeguards. My quarters are warded. No one enters without my permission.”
“So I’m a prisoner,” she snapped.
“No,” he said. “You’re a ta
