Elaria’s POV
The words echoed in my mind like a whispered prayer. A threadbare shield barely holding me together.
Did he just call Alaric, the Lycan King?
Rickard’s voice still reverberated inside my skull, low and smug, laced with cruel satisfaction. I stayed frozen, barely breathing, as the weight of those three words settled over me like ice.
Alaric. My Alaric, The Lycan King?
I swallowed the shock like bitter poison, forcing my face into a mask of indifference. I couldn’t let Rickard see it. . . the stutter in my heartbeat, the ache forming behind my ribs, the tremor threatening to give me away. He wanted a reaction from me to feed on my fear, my confusion, and my unraveling.
I wouldn’t give him the pleasure.
So I stood still, spine straight despite the chains fear tried to wra
