Aldus sat heavily on his dark leather swivel chair, the weight of the meeting pressing down on him like a suffocating blanket.
The office was silent now—the Elders had left, Florita had excused herself, and even the pack warriors lingered nervously in the hallway, sensing the storm brewing inside.
Only she had left without looking back.
Livia.
Quiet.
Pale.
Shaken.
Aldus lifted the glass of liquor to his lips, but his hand trembled—not with fear, but with rage. The amber liquid burned down his throat, but nothing could burn away the image of Livia's silence the moment Aldrake's name was mentioned.
Silence.
That damned silence.
His jaw tightened until the muscle twitched harshly. He could still see her eyes—wide, distant, drowning in emotions she refused to voice.
Gone was the sharpness she usually held.
Gone was the fire.
He saw only confusion… and something he hated with every part of his soul—
A painful reminder that Aldrake still had a place inside her.
