= Amara =
“I–I’m sorry, Alpha!”
The words shattered as they left him, raw and broken, like he was trying to hold together something that had already snapped.
The gamma I’d faced earlier—the one who had stood tall and defiant in the arena, chest out, eyes blazing with arrogance—was on his knees now. His palms pressed into the dirt, head bowed low, shoulders trembling with a shame so complete it almost hurt to watch. Every ounce of pride, every ounce of defiance that had marked him moments ago, was gone—stripped away in a heartbeat, leaving only a trembling, vulnerable figure in its wake.
I didn’t look at him.
Not because I didn’t care. I just didn’t need to.
My attention was elsewhere.
Mikael.
He stood a few steps away, still as a statue, spine straight, shoulders squared with the k
