The Eastern Highlands were colder than Lucian Wolfe remembered.
Or perhaps it was the hollowness in his chest that made everything feel bleak.
He rode through the thick pines alone, his Beta trailing behind with questions he didn't want to answer. The sun had long since disappeared, swallowed by an overcast sky that mirrored the weight hanging on Lucian’s shoulders. He had left the Valen Territory in anger. He had failed Rayne. Failed himself.
And now, all he could do was face the wreckage of the choices he couldn’t undo.
The castle loomed ahead—stone, formidable, unwelcoming. His warriors stood at the gates with their usual salute, but even they seemed to sense something was wrong. Lucian didn’t acknowledge them. His mind was too far gone—still tangled in the image of Rayne pushing hi
