KIERAN’S POV
The first glimpse of her nearly undid me.
Just like the teams had no idea what Gatekeeper Boss they would encounter, I had no idea what teams I would have to obstruct.
And as Seraphina and her team came out into view, I almost didn’t recognize her.
I’d watched her progress through the LST, watched the way she led. Not perfectly, not without mistakes—but with heart, and with a firm resolution that had earned her teammates’ trust.
This wasn’t the girl who used to slip through the Lockwood manor’s hallways with her head lowered, nor the withdrawn woman I once dismissed as too fragile to bear the weight of a pack.
No—what stood before me now was a warrior forged in frost and fire. She carried herself with a conviction that I had no hand in shaping.
Her gaze was sharp, her chin lifted, her voice steady as she gave orders to the ragged band of Omegas at her side.
Ashar stirred uneasily, the weight of him coiled and restless. ‘She’s different,’ he rumbled.
