The shrine trembled beneath the sound of approaching soldiers.
Boots thundered across the broken stone above them while the storm outside roared through the shattered entrance like a living thing. Snow spiraled down the staircase in silver-white currents, carried inward by violent wind and the growing pressure of multiple Alpha bloodlines converging on the underground ruins at once.
Selene felt it immediately.
Not one presence.
Several.
The pulse beneath her ribs reacted sharply, awakening instincts she still did not fully understand. The throne memory lingering inside her chest stirred again like something half-asleep beginning to recognize familiar footsteps.
Kael stepped toward the staircase entrance without hesitation.
