TRISTAN

I joined Cassian as we peered into the hall beyond.

"...he's already been marked?" the Alpha King asked with irritation.

A muscle ticked in my father's jaw. "By a countryside girl of all things. Pathetic," my father spat. "An heir of Ironvale chained by some backwater pup."

The Alpha King leaned back in his chair. "This is unlike Adrian. He's not the reckless one. But we cannot afford weakness now."

"My son will be dealt with," my father said calmly, and ...