The first breach came at midnight.
Not with horns.
Not with war-cries.
But with silence.
The bond tightened in my chest so suddenly it stole my breath. I sat bolt upright in Kael’s bed, heart hammering, every instinct screaming warning. The chamber was dark except for the faint silver spill of moonlight through the narrow window.
Someone was inside the wing.
Not Kael.
Not Rowan.
Not anyone who belonged.
I slid quietly from the bed, bare feet whispering over cold stone. The air felt wrong—too still, too expectant. Even my wolf held her breath.
The very wards built into the Alpha’s wing shuddered.
Once.
Twice.
Then cracked.
A low boom rippled through the stone beneath my feet.
Rowan’s voice thundered from the corridor. “Shields up! Protect the Alpha’s wing—now!”
Steel rang.
