My throat tightened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do.” His expression softened without losing its edge. “Victoria’s games. Your mate bond. That den you can no longer call a safe haven.”
I swallowed past the lump rising in my throat, unsure whether it was anger or something colder. “If I wanted a lecture on my circumstances, I could have stayed in pack territory.”
His lips twitched again—not quite a smile, but something close to it. “It wasn’t a lecture. Just a reminder that you deserve something beyond all of this... chaos.”
Before I could form a response, an unexpected buzz rippled faintly through the pack bonds. It wasn’t a direct message—but the lingering uproar beneath the surface of my mind suggested commotion brewing.
(Alexander’s POV)
The celebration had turne
