Return of the Nameless Alpha
Every structure carries the look of something built to survive a siege, not to impress a garden party.
Wren slows the SUV at the iron gate, where two guards in Vane gray step into the drive without hurry, the particular unhurried confidence of men who know exactly how much muscle stands ready behind them if it's ever needed. The taller one circles to her window while the second one's gaze runs the length of the vehicle, cataloging it, plates, tint, the three small heads visible through the glass.
She lowers her window six inches. Cold air pours in, carrying pine resin and gun oil and, underneath, something warmer that might be bread from a kitchen somewhere behind the stone walls.