My stomach dropped at the sight of her. She looked different—her usual polished appearance replaced by something harder, her blonde hair pulled back severely, her posture rigid with purpose. Her eyes found mine immediately, a small, triumphant smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
The two groups halted a respectful distance apart, the morning breeze carrying scents between us—the unfamiliar, pine-and-snow smell of the Winter's Edge pack mixing with our own forest-and-earth scent.
Protocol dictated that as the junior Alpha's representative, I should speak first, acknowledging Aleksander's status and thanking him for agreeing to this meeting. But before I could open my mouth, Cynthia stepped forward.
"This is the one I told you about," she said to Aleksander, her voice carrying clearly across the clearing. "The omega who ensorcelled our Alpha."
A ripple of tension went through my escort. Victor's hand twitched at his side, his expression unreadable as he watched his daughter.
Aleks
