The first light of dawn cut through the curtains of the cabin.

Roman had been awake for hours.

The moment he’d opened his eyes, something inside him had shifted. There was no time to waste—not with the council’s message echoing in his mind. Bring the human to us. Or we come for her.

He’d barely slept. Instead, he’d called in every ally he could trust. The conversation was low and tense, his voice steady but his pulse erratic.

“Liam,” he said over the phone, pacing the cabin ...