Alana's POV
Something about Lucian felt off.
It started small—barely a flicker of unease, like a breeze through closed windows. He had always been loyal, Adrian's former beta and my reluctant ally. He had every reason to hate Ethan after what he'd endured. But there were cracks now. Missed meetings. Half-hearted reports. A flicker of hesitation in his eyes when Adrian spoke. I noticed him pausing near the war map longer than necessary, running his fingers along the borders as if memorizing paths.
I tried to tell myself it was trauma. After all, Lucian had escaped near-death, beaten, broken, and hunted by Ethan. Perhaps the man was simply haunted, like the rest of us. But I couldn't ignore the way he would sometimes avoid my gaze, or how he always seemed to be in places he wasn't supposed to be. Once, I passed him in the corridor near the eastern watchtower when he was supposed to be leading a southern patrol. He smiled and lied without blinking.
