The silence inside the Alpha’s study was not peaceful; it was heavy, suffocating, and thick with the stagnant scent of dried ink, old leather, and residual tension.
Cassian sat behind his massive mahogany desk, the dark wood polished to a mirror shine that reflected the flickering amber glow of the stone hearth. Outside, a bitter autumn wind rattled the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the Crescent Stone estate, sweeping across the manicured lawns and casting long, skeletal shadows of the oak trees against the heavy velvet drapes.
By all physical metrics, the house was secure. The perimeter guards checked in through the telepathic pack link at their scheduled intervals, a rhythmic hum of *all clear* vibrating in the back of Kessian's skull. The pack’s protective boundary aura was stabl
