"Your Pack needs you."
Freya's words landed across the war room with a quiet force that no shouted command could have matched, and Alessandro remained motionless beside the long oak table, one hand resting against its worn edge while the other held a folded report that had already been read too many times to contain any new information. The great windows behind him were dark with evening, and the lights of Regina Palace shimmered faintly across the glass, but his attention remained fixed upon the map covering the table, where red pins marked territories that had withdrawn cooperation, yellow markers showed patrol routes left dangerously thin, and black circles identified villages whose usual protection had been reduced because too many warriors had been reassigned to the palace. Elara stood opposite him, watching the man she loved wrestle with a decision that had become heavier than any crown could reasonably bear.
Alessandro finally lifted his eyes. "So does Elara."
