LUCIEN’S POV

The air in Maximus's office felt like it had turned to stone—heavy, unyielding, pressing down on all of us. I stood there, arms still crossed, my back against the wall, watching the chaos unfold like a storm I couldn't stop.

Damien's face was flushed red, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Emilia. Hell, I was staring too. "Let them come"? What kind of madness was that? We'd just spent the last ten minutes laying out how these humans—Scarlett and her greedy Salvatore company—were sniffing around our sacred Crescent Moon territory like vultures circling a fresh kill. And now our queen was suggesting we roll out...