The hall quiets slowly.
Laden turns to face the crowd and raises one hand.
“My people,” he begins loudly, his voice echoing through the hall. “I present to you something rare.”
Murmurs spread through the room.
He pulls me closer, his hand gripping my upper arm firmly.
“This,” he continues, “is Riley Grayson.”
Some of them whisper my name.
“She carries the scent of the Alphas of Obsidian Veil,” he announces.
Gasps and angry growls fill the hall.
I feel eyes burn into my skin.
“Impossible,” someone shouts from the crowd.
“She is human!” another voice yells.
Laden chuckles. “Yes. She is human. And yet their scent clings to her even after days.”
A tall older man steps forward from a raised platform at the front of the hall. He wears dark robes and his hair is gray, his eyes sharp
