Darius~
The moment the ballroom doors groaned open, a terrible chill sliced through my spine. The air itself thickened, as if holding its breath along with the hundreds of wolves in that lavish hall. My gaze locked on the figure standing in the doorway, and for a moment, the world around me blurred.
No. It couldn't be.
Kelvin.
Alive.
He walked in with a slow, unwavering stride, the heavy thud of his boots echoing like funeral bells. Gasps erupted from my pack—my warriors—every one of them frozen in place as they recognized the man they'd been told was long gone.
But not just gone. Branded a traitor.
The lies Timothy and I fed them—"Kelvin helped Evan Cross sabotage the royal visit… When Evan was caught, Kelvin ran…"—all of it crumbled like ash in the wind.
Now the king was telling them something entirely different. That I tried to kill Kelvin. To erase him.
The stares of the room pressed harder on me. Even the lights on the wall seemed to flicker in accusation.
