The Compound didn’t stop for anything.
Not storms.
Not threats.
Not the Vipers.
Not Elias Ward.
But it paused for Lucien.
And today, it paused for Lucien and me.
Word traveled fast — faster than intel, faster than surveillance updates, faster than Jax’s gossip. The President had changed. The President was different. The President was… softer.
Because of me.
And the Compound felt it.
The Walk Through the Main Hall
Lucien walked beside me through the main corridor, his hand resting lightly on my lower back. It wasn’t possessive. It wasn’t controlling. It was grounding — a quiet, steady touch that said I’m here without needing words.
But the Compound noticed.
Serpents paused mid‑conversation.
Boots slowed on concrete.
Heads turned.
Not in judgment.
Not in suspicion.
In recog
