ARIA
The command of the wolf king filled the room. Even my father could not fight it.
With a sharp breath, Victor Blackwood dropped to his knees. The sound of it echoed against the walls. For a second, he looked smaller than I had ever seen him. Power stripped away. Pride gone.
I walked toward him without rushing. Each step felt steady. Calm.
The tattoo hung on the wall behind him. I reached past his shoulder and peeled it away as if it were nothing.
"You've always been clever," I said quietly. "You knew you had to clean up your image to get what you really wanted. Power. When you became alpha, you cut away your old sins. At least the ones people could see. But you couldn't let it go completely."
He stared at the floor, jaw tight.
"If you had truly let it go," I continued, "you mig
