An hour passed in thick, unbroken silence. The kind of silence that presses against your ears until you start to hear your own pulse.
Then came a knock—firm, official, not the hesitant tap of a servant.
Tristan moved to the door with slow, deliberate steps, as though he already knew this wouldn’t be a conversation he wanted. He swung it open.
A guard stood there, back straight, eyes fixed on the floor. “The Alpha requests your presence in his chambers. Now.”
The guard bowed and stepped back, but not before I caught the flicker of unease in his posture.
Tristan’s brows knit together, the calm façade on his face melting into something darker—tighter. Without replying, he turned sharply, strode back inside, and slammed the door so hard the sound echoed through the walls.
The crack of wo
