Ashes Of Desire
"Operation Ashfall wasn't authorized by an Alpha. It was engineered by a coward hiding behind stolen administrative keys and forged signatures."
Torin’s eyes widened, a sudden flicker of genuine panic cutting through his arrogant facade. He hadn't expected her to piece together the depth of the deception so quickly. He opened his mouth to rasp another retort, but Julian’s grip tightened just enough to cut off the air entirely, plunging the elder into a limp, unconscious collapse.
Julian dropped Torin’s body to the floor with a heavy, unceremonious thud. The old man lay sprawled across the stone, chest barely rising as air painfully forced its way back into his lungs.