The pressure of Valerius’s Lycan aura was so heavy it visibly cracked the black marble floor beneath Kaelen’s hands.
Alpha Kaelen, the man who had terrorized my youth, the man who had thrown me to the wolves, was plastered face-down on the cold stone. Beside him, Selene was sobbing hysterically, unable to draw enough oxygen into her lungs under the crushing weight of my King’s dominance.
"Valerius," I said softly, placing a gentle hand on his massive, tense forearm.
His crimson eyes snapped to me, the feral beast inside him demanding blood. But the moment my fingers brushed his skin, his aura pulled back just a fraction. Enough to let the Southern wolves breathe.
"Let them up," I commanded, my voice echoing through the silent Throne Room. "I want to look into his eyes when I speak to h
