The door was kicked open not by a man, but by a storm. Hudson Montgomery stood in the threshold, his heavy fur cloak dusted with the night’s frost, his Alpha aura so pressurized the very air in Avery’s small chamber seemed to thin.

Avery recoiled. She knew his black mood was a direct reaction to Madison’s blood on the Academy stones. He had come for a reckoning.

"I know you are standing there, voiceless and defiant," Hudson growled, his voice vibrating through the floorboards. "Undo the latch, or I will tear this wood from the frame."

Avery pulled the handle. Hudson surged in, his massive frame eclipsing the candlelight. The...