Luca POV
I stared at the maps spread across my desk, my mind still squirling with thoughts.
I’d looked at this same terrain for hours, memorized every tree line, every slope. But nothing made sense today. Every route I drew ended in blood.
Victor’s men weren’t just testing our borders—they were taunting us.
I rubbed the heel of my hand against my temple. Sleep had been a luxury I hadn’t tasted in three days. Aria’s voice had been the only thing tethering me to sanity. Her sharp, grounded logic. Her refusal to let me spiral.
But she hadn’t come by tonight. And that silence was starting to claw at my chest.
A knock landed against my door, sharp and quick.
“Enter,” I said, too tired to care who it was.
A guard stepped in, barely able to breath like he ran a marathon to get here.
“Alpha,” he said, then hesitated—like he was about to deliver a death sentence.
I straightened, already on edge. “Spit it out.”
He cleared his throat. “One of the East Wing warriors… Zane… he said Aria collapse
