Astrid's POV
The morning air felt heavy, saturated with a tension that had no source I could name. The pack house was quiet, the usual low hum of activity muffled by a strange, foreboding stillness.
I was nursing a cup of herbal tea in my private sitting room, its warmth a small comfort against the lingering chill of my weakness, when a guard's scent of frantic fear and reverence cut through the calm. It was a scent I knew, a scent that always heralded a storm. A storm named Lothaire.
I froze, the teacup trembling in my hands. Memories, cold and dark, flooded my mind. The touch of his hands, the power in his voice, the terrifying violation he had so casually inflicted. The secret I carried, a heavy stone in my heart, suddenly felt as if it were suffocating me. I had buried it deep, pre
