The door closed behind him with a soft click. Leofrik stood still for a few seconds, letting the darkness and silence of his room engulf him. Only then did he allow the weight of what he was feeling to fall onto his shoulders like a damp cloak.
Helena.
His wolf was still restless, pacing inside his chest with long, tense strides. He had felt it before—that instinct of belonging, that ancestral call—but never with such clarity. Never with such restrained fury. Her wolf hadn’t responded… because she wasn’t there.
The door opened again, this time without him turning around.
“Prince?” The deep, composed voice of Darius filled the room. Leofrik nodded without facing him, knowing his Beta would close the door behind him.
“Come in.”
Darius crossed the threshold with silent steps, as always,
