|| Alaric’s POV ||

I stepped out of the car, the cool night air doing little to calm the storm inside me. The packhouse loomed before me, its familiar silhouette offering no comfort. I walked inside, the sound of my footsteps echoing in the empty halls. My office was my sanctuary, the one place where I could shut out the world and focus. But even there, Lilac’s presence haunted me.

I sat at my desk, the files in front of me blurring as my mind wandered. The memory of her in ...