Dravina’s POV

The moment we stepped into the dining hall, I noticed four figures already seated: Malrik, Foster, Vladan whom I now recognized as the Beta and a man I hadn’t encountered before.

I offered a respectful greeting, my tone calm and composed. Each of them returned the gesture, though the unfamiliar man’s response carried a stiffness to it, as though he were treading cautiously. I couldn’t blame him. Foster and Vladan seemed noticeably more at ease around me now, but that ...