Chapter Seven- Shadows in the Study
Tristan sat in his office long after the phone call ended, staring at the empty screen like it might conjure her voice back again if he only willed it hard enough. Evandra’s laugh, her sigh, the way she called him Tristan with that quiet intimacy—every sound replayed in his head, a balm and a torment both.
“Evie,” he whispered into the stillness, the name barely leaving his lips. Only when he was utterly alone did he dare to say it.
Around him, the study was cloaked in shadows. The fire in the hearth burned low, casting flickers of amber across ledgers and patrol rosters spread over his desk. The work of an Alpha never stopped, and yet tonight the papers blurred together, meaningless in the wake of her absence.
His wolf stirred inside him, restless.
