The packhouse was quieter than usual, the calm before the storm that loomed on the horizon. We were two nights away from executing the plan to infiltrate the vampire coven, and everyone was on edge. My mind was racing with details, strategies, and the weight of what was to come, but there was something else gnawing at me—a loose end I hadn't yet tied.
That man.
The one who had come to me in the dead of night, knowing my name and insisting we speak. I had been so caught up in preparing for the alliance with the vampires and managing the doubts within the pack that I had pushed him aside, telling myself I would deal with him later. But now, with the stakes rising, I couldn’t shake the feeling that his sudden appearance wasn’t a coincidence.
“Alpha Maeve,” his voice echoed in my memory. Th
