Lorien POV

He said it, and somewhere beneath the wild rush in my ears, I sensed Lucen behind me, lingering in the doorway. My fingers fisted tighter in Auren’s shirt, the papers in my left hand wrinkling under my grip. I shut my eyes hard as I felt my wolf pull back, slipping away like sand through trembling fingers.

“Shift.”

Auren’s Alpha command hit me like a pulse through my bones.

My wolf stirred, rising with fierce pride for a heartbeat before that strength drained out of her ...