The crack was spreading.
I felt it every time I looked at him — a hairline fracture in the ice I had spent three years forging. It wasn’t mercy. It wasn’t weakness. It was something far more dangerous: memory laced with the sharp, unwanted thrill of power.
I stood in the central command room, surrounded by holographic maps of the realm. The World of Supreme Alphas was shifting. Reports poured in from every territory. Justin’s prolonged absence had already sparked whispers. Some Alphas saw opportunity. Others saw weakness. Duke Varran’s failed attack was only the beginning. The Council of Supreme Alphas would convene in seven days, and they would demand answers about why the most powerful among them was suddenly… missing.
They didn’t know he was here, on his knees, leaking for me.
I dis
