The summons came before dawn.
I was folding linens when a knock rattled my door—sharp, impatient. A servant's voice carried through the wood.
"Alpha requests your presence. At once."
My hands froze over the cloth. My first thought was of Seraphina. She was always summoned, always the one at Lucien's side. Never me.
When I stepped into the hall, the servant's eyes flickered over my plain dress, my unbound hair, then quickly away, as though afraid to question.
Lucien was waiting in the strategy chamber, standing over the great oak table spread with maps and scrolls. Elizer was at his side, posture tight, watchful as always. Seraphina lounged near the hearth, draped in silk that caught the firelight, her smile already sharpened for victory.
But when Lucien looked up, his gaze didn't lan
