Elder Elias leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming idly on the polished wood of the small table. The warm, dimly lit deli hummed around him with quiet conversations and the clinking of coffee cups, a perfect place to blend in. Princeton’s downtown was bustling, but Elias had picked this place for a reason—hiding in plain sight, far from the Alpha’s prying eyes.

His gaze flickered to the window, watching people pass under the gray morning light. Emilia’s investigation was pressing heavily on his mind. The people he'd sent to watch her had returned with the news that she'd been to her dead parents' place twice now. Once alone, and...