Ash’s POV
The note arrived like a slap, delivered by one of the academy runners who wouldn’t meet my eyes, just thrust the folded paper into my hand and muttered, “Alpha heir’s order. Room seventeen. Now.”
I stared at the elegant script, Rowan’s handwriting sharp and formal, the words unmistakable: immediate summons, no refusal permitted. My stomach twisted, part anger, part something dangerously close to anticipation that I crushed down hard.
What the hell did he want now? To gloat? To threaten? To pretend the other night never happened?
I crumpled the note in my fist, shoved it into my pocket, and headed to the dorm wing, heart pounding louder with every step. I told myself it was just curiosity, just caution, nothing more. I would not admit the tiny, stupid flicker of hope that m
