Draco stalked through the dimly lit corridors of the compound, his footsteps echoing like thunderclaps in the tense silence. Ever since Lisa's disappearance, a pall of unease had settled over the pack, whispers and furtive glances trailing in his wake.

As he approached the council chambers, the guards snapped to attention, their expressions carefully neutral. Draco swept past them without a word, his mind a cyclone of suspicion and barely restrained fury.

The chamber doors groaned open, admitting him into the cavernous space where the pack elders had already assembled. At the center of the circle, flanked by two heavily armed sentries, stood Vivian.

Her gaze met Draco's, a fleeting...