Alec
The silence in the cell had long stopped feeling like peace.
It was punishment.
It echoed with every unspoken word, every breath that scraped past his lungs like ash. The chains no longer rattled—he no longer moved. The fire that had consumed him days before had simmered into something worse.
Hollow.
He sat with his back against the far wall, eyes dim, staring into nothing. The scent of silver was a constant hum against his senses, dulling the instinct to shift. The ash—an old suppressant of lycan magic—clung to his skin like regret.
How had it come to this?
He had always known his role. Beta to the King. Shield to Daxus. Loyal to a fault.
But now?
He could feel her even through stone and magic. A thread that tugged relentlessly at his soul.
Avane.
His mate.
And yet, she w
