Michael’s jaw tightened, shadows deepening along his cheekbones as the lantern light flickered across his face. The courtyard had grown quieter around them—wolves were beginning to notice the shift in energy, the crackle of something dangerous in the air. Music still played in the distance, but it sounded muted, almost drowned beneath the rising storm between the two Alphas.
“We will let the Council decide, Elaine,” Michael said, each word strained, brittle. “I just want my son to know me. The real me. Not… whatever version you will surely tell him.”
Elaine’s breath left her in one cold exhale. It wasn’t shock she felt—it was fury, sharp and clean like a blade unsheathed.
Michael wasn’t finished.
“I lost you as my mate,” he said, voice breaking in the middle. “That is my sin. I know it
