DARIAN
My heart pounds against my ribcage like a war drum. I stand frozen in Iris’s grandfather’s living room, “You!” hanging in the air.
When he saw me, the flash of recognition in his eyes hit me like a blade. And suddenly the stories I’d heard in whispers, half‑digested, fell into place.
He betrayed my grandfather’s pack.
Not simply fleeing, not merely hiding, but actively turning on them, under cover. Because of pride. Because he envied us. Because he lost a bride in a political game and decided revenge.
I understood then: Iris’s grandfather and mine were rivals, two Alphas of large packs bordering one another. Both vying for influence. Both courting the same powerful pack’s princess to form an alliance that could secure peace. My grandfather won. The marriage altered the balance
