"Even the purest bonds cast shadows. Power shared between souls must pay its price in generations."
ALARIC'S POV
The office was quiet again two hours later when dusk set in, and the stillness was absolute. The space was no longer filled with the vibrant, life-affirming presence of Elias and the psychic resonance of our mating bond. The silence was deceptive; it was not calm. It was the heavy, charged quiet that follows a massive, coordinated strike, leaving me alone with the residue of fear and the burden of a horrifying secret.
Marcus was already closing in on Master Elion. Juno was supervising the frantic, silent inventory of the Ironwood. BlackThorne teams were securing the new perimeter, and Elias, my forever mate, was back in his rooms, stabilizing the Alpha Law just by being, radiating the unwavering calm I so desperately needed to borrow.
