Heather – POV

Alpha Kayden and I sat on opposite ends of a cold bench, just far enough to avoid speaking, just close enough to feel the weight of what was coming. Officers moved in and out of Kate’s apartment like clockwork, oblivious to the storm brewing between us. We couldn’t move yet. Not until they were gone.

Kayden’s eyes scanned the air, sharp, focused, but distant—lost in thought. In his hand, he turned a small, dirt-smeared locket over and over, his thumb grazing its ...