[Zeph's POV]

My breath caught as I felt the frustration of Lyra’s words. She felt like Master Alaric was far too close to me.

And maybe that was true.

I had always been his shadow, and in recent years, his advisor and guard. I knew things about Emberwood-about the Emberfell pack and other packs that even Lyra, his own daughter, did not.

He’d mention in passing how he couldn’t wait for her to mature into the conversations that he’d had with me. That she just wasn’t ready yet. ...