The air in the Great Hall of the Neutral Zone Summit turned from freezing to volcanic in a heartbeat.
"What did you say?" Astra’s voice was no longer a Queen’s; it was a sister’s raw, jagged, and lethal. The silver crescent on her palm flared with a blinding light, the energy so intense it began to crack the marble floor beneath her boots.
Dante’s shadow expanded across the room, his eyes turning a solid, molten gold. "If you’ve touched the boy, there won't be a Neutral Zone left for you to hide in, Elder."
The First Alpha didn't flinch. He leaned back in his white silk chair, steepled his long, withered fingers, and looked at a holographic display on the table. "Touch him? My dear King, we are much more civilized than that. We simply offered him an education. A 'Beta-Protector' scholar
