|| ASHER's POV ||

I paced restlessly in my chambers, a sense of unease gnawing at the pit of my stomach like a hungry beast. The news of Viktor's latest act of cruelty had reached me swiftly, and though I had not yet seen the grisly gift he had sent, I could already feel the weight of it pressing down upon me like a leaden shroud.

As I struggled to make sense of Viktor's actions, my mind raced with questions and doubts. What had driven him to such extremes of violence? And what did he hope to achieve by sending me the severed head of a lycan from my own...