Lucian studies me curiously.
“You don’t believe him.”
“Would you? The man who consolidated power by eliminating his entire family line, taken down by a couple of rogues?” I shake my head. “He was already a general in the army before he took over the position as head of his family. Three shifters couldn’t take him down. Something’s off.”
Astra sets aside the mortar and pestle.
“Has Selene woken up yet?”
“Yes, this morning.”
She gives me a smile, but it fades when I don’t return it.
“What’s wrong?”
I hesitate, not sure how to explain what I witnessed without revealing that Selene is my fated mate. The complete absence of reaction, the way she looked at me like I was a stranger.
“Her behavior was…odd.”
Astra’s eyes narrow, studying my face with that unsettling perception she has alw
