The villa corridors were hushed under the cover of deep night, the usual guard patrols thinned by Damien’s quiet orders. Bella followed him through a side passage she hadn’t used since her early days in the pack, her bare feet silent on the cool stone.
Her heart hammered with a mix of gratitude and wary confusion. Damien had appeared at her suite door an hour earlier, his face etched with exhaustion, and simply said, “Did you recieve my letter? Elias has been calling for you. The official escort isn’t until morning. Come with me.”
Now, as they slipped into the dimly lit private wing of the healing center, Bella glanced up at his rigid profile. The Alpha King moved with tense purpose, his broad shoulders blocking any stray light.
He hadn’t spoken much since retrieving her, but the part
