The first warning came as a scent. Blood—fresh and foreign. And fear sharp enough to taste. Adrian woke instantly, body tensing before his mind fully caught up. His eyes snapped open in the dark. The wolf surged beneath his skin, claws itching, muscles coiling.
Calla stirred against his chest, the mark at her neck warm and pulsing. “You feel it,” she murmured, voice thick with sleep.
Adrian didn’t answer. He inhaled again—slow, deliberate—tracking the air like a predator. Someone had crossed Valenti territory. Someone wounded. And someone close enough to touch the perimeter of their bedroom wing. He slid out of bed soundlessly and pulled on pants. The scars along his ribs tightened as he moved.
Calla sat up, silver flickering faintly in her eyes. “Adrian—what is it?”
“Stay,” he ordere
