The air in the room didn’t just shift; it curdled. The sorrow that had made Cassian look so human, so fragile, was eclipsed in a heartbeat by a dark, primal possessiveness, a terrifying, ancient trait that had defined the Blackwood Alphas for a thousand years. It was the look of a predator who had found his lost prize and would sooner kill it than see it roam free again.
He was no longer a grieving widower.
He was an Alpha King who had just discovered his legacy had been stolen from him for five years.
He turned toward the shattered remains of the doorway, his voice ringing out with a cold, absolute authority that vibrated through the very stones of the estate, alerting every wolf within the perimeter that their King had woken up.
"Guards!"
The command was a physical shockwave. Withi
