Alpha’s Claimed Mate.
His eyes were wide, watching, not yet old enough to understand but sensing what was being lost.
“Don’t look,” she whispered, turning his face into her coat.
In the square, Cael fell to his knees. Blood pooled beneath him.
Aiden stepped back, wiping his blade clean with a cloth that caught fire moments later.
He turned toward the remnants of the town and raised his voice, thunderous and cold.
“Burn it all to the ground.”
His soldiers obeyed.
Buildings—homes, schools, shrines—were torched. Flames danced up stone walls and swallowed memories whole.