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“You seem to forget that I am his closest advisor,” Alarik said in a warning tone.

“For now…” laughed the Russian, and I realized I was missing some information.

I knew nothing about the structure of the pack.

The tall man with the well-groomed beard turned back to Nickolas, who surprisingly spoke up.

“My brother is right. We shouldn’t overwhelm her.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately everyone looked at me.

“Nevertheless. The conversation is not over yet.”

My body immediately tensed up again.

Only now did I feel Alarik’s searching gaze on me.

I looked up, and our eyes locked.

It was as if I were deluding myself into seeing a silent apology in his cool green emeralds. Something that didn’t belong there, because none of this was his fault.

“Emely, show her where she can sleep,” Alarik said, handing Emely my backpack and earning a withering glance from the Russian.

That guy probably looked at everyone like that...

Alarik motioned for me to come over, and I obeyed.

I hadn't felt this insecure since Moenia, where I had been led to the slaughter in the truest sense of the word.

And then I realized how good the timing was. In a few days, it would be time for my next rite of passage. But now that was no longer on the cards. How unfortunate.

A smirk wanted to form on my lips, but I suppressed this strange reaction from my body.

I felt a brief sense of relief. But then my thoughts drifted to Mum. I had to call her as soon as possible...

Emely turned away from the men, and I followed her through the large double doors out of the study, hoping that was really what I was supposed to do.

“Alarik. Close the door,” I heard Nickolas say.

I turned my head one last time, and our gazes met again. And for a split second, it was as if a hint of pain lingered in his eyes.

A slight tugging sensation ran through the scar beneath my left breast, just as it often did during thunderstorms, and my breath caught.

The next second, a man I didn’t know closed the door, and Alarik disappeared from my view.

You’re definitely sleep-deprived, Bayla.

“Is Alarik in trouble now?”

At least no one seemed thrilled about me being here.

Without turning to me, Emely began to speak.

“As you may have noticed, Alarik often does rash or reckless things without explaining his reasons.”

She led me through the entrance hall, up the broad staircase, where we turned into one of two long corridors that, judging by the house’s external layout, split again further down the hall.

Two deer heads, mounted on ornate wood plaques, sat enthroned on the walls to the right and left, staring at me with their dead eyes as if they were about to jump down and attack me.