THE MAD ALPHA
She tilts her head, just a little, like she knows something I don’t.
I shake my head hard. “No,” I say. “Not you.”
The image shatters.
Kael replaces her.
He is kneeling, shoulders hunched, hands shaking as he tries to fix something already broken. Blood stains his fingers. His mouth moves like he wants to explain, like he wants forgiveness, but he never asks.
Varek stands farther back.
Half in shadow. Watching everything.
His body is tight, ready, like the world might end any second and he would step into it without blinking.