The clinking of cutlery and soft murmur of conversation filled the great hall, but Ember hardly noticed. She was nervously twisting her napkin in her hands, trying to keep her thoughts focused on the food in front of her, though her eyes kept drifting to Alpha Aiden. He had just laughed at a comment Tyler made, his entire posture relaxed yet commanding. Even from across the table, Ember could see the quiet confidence in his movements, the subtle way he carried himself as if the world naturally respected him.
“Ember, you’re staring again,” Corvin whispered with a cheeky nudge, smirking at her flushed cheeks.
“I… I’m not,” she said, blinking rapidly, trying to appear nonchalant. But she couldn’t stop herself. There was something magnetic about Aiden, something that made her heart flutter i
