The silence in the Alpha’s office lingered long after Michael’s last words. It wasn’t just quiet—it was holy. The kind of silence that comes before a storm or the moment before a wound finally closes. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
Elaine could hear the faint ticking of the old clock on the wall. Each second fell like a drop of water into a vast, echoing void—slow, deliberate, and unrelenting.
She looked at Michael. Once, the Moon Goddess herself had bound them—two souls intertwined by fate. But now, as she stood before him, all she saw was a stranger draped in memories and regret. The man who had been her destiny and her undoing.
Beside her, Darius stood unmoving—his aura calm but commanding, the kind of strength that didn’t need to be announced. His hand rested on the small o
