LUCIAN'S P.O.V. V.
The quiet hum of my office was the closest thing I had to peace these days. Papers cluttered my desk like a battlefield—contracts I'd deliberately ignored, reports I'd outright refused to read. Two years. Two exhausting, fruitless years of searching for Teresa. My chest literally ached with the weight of her absence, a dull, constant throb that no amount of distraction could dull. Even Ares,was a miserable lump of fur and snarls, pacing around in my head like a caged animal. His growls had become my brain's new background noise.
I was signing another document—probably something important, though I couldn't be bothered to care—when Kenneth knocked on my door. The sound was a polite little tap, but it grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
"What now?" I snapped without looking up.
Kenneth stepped in, managing to sound both professional and completely over it. "Jennifer's here again, Alpha."
