The courtyard still hummed with the echoes of Alfred’s voice. His Alpha command had rippled through the crowd like a shockwave, bending the spines of even the strongest warriors. Lydia stood frozen in the circle, her chest rising and falling with angry breaths, her unfinished shift flickering in and out of her skin.

Bella, meanwhile, wavered on her feet. Every muscle in her body ached, her ribs screamed from Lydia’s earlier strike, but her eyes—though exhausted —held a quiet fire. The ...