Ryker’s POV
I left the main hall without a glance back at Valentina. She had spoken barely but it was enough for now.
My footsteps echoed across the long corridor of the East Quarter, the one rarely used unless for reasons like this. Behind me, the door clicked shut, muffling the lingering tension that still simmered in that room. Men who obeyed without question. And a girl... who still had fear swimming in her eyes.
Good. Fear was an effective leash. Without stopping, I mindlinked Raccoon. Get to me. Now.
His reply was instant. Already on the way. He met me at the threshold that separated the main house from the lower undergrounds,no one came here unless summoned. The air felt cooler here, heavier. As if it too had seen the bloodshed.
"Alpha," Raccoon nodded once, a lock of his white
