DARIAN

I step through the gates of the Haven, the heavy doors closing behind me with a dull thud. The courtyard is silent except for distant guards shifting. I taste something bitter in the air, anticipation and dread.

As I round the corner to the living area, I slow. The doors are open. Everybody is there, Zeus, Adrian, Kelvin, ADIRA and her father, and of course, the Lycan king. They stand rigid, watching. And at the far end, my father sits in a high-backed chair, his back turned to me as though guarding some secret.

I pause, my heart thundering. My mind races: did Zeus betray me? Did word get...