Lyra's pulse raced as they stepped into Kael's territory, the familiar surroundings doing little to soothe the growing turmoil in her chest. The weight of everything that had happened in the last few hours felt unbearable—Kael's secrets, Ariadne's sudden return, Marcus lurking in the background, watching and waiting.
She had come back with Kael, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all wrong. That she was walking into another trap.
Kael had been silent the entire time, his jaw clenched as they moved through the darkened corridors of his pack's central stronghold. His wolves greeted him with tense, knowing glances, as if they, too, could sense the shift in the air. Something was coming, something none of them were prepared for.
As they neared the main hall, the door creaked open, and Lyra's heart stopped.
Ariadne.
