Chapter 4

I leaned against the cold stone of the guard tower, my fingers tracing the ancient carvings etched into its surface. The night air carried voices from below—voices that weren't meant for my ears but found them anyway.

"She's too busy with parchment to notice she's irrelevant," Marcus's deep voice rumbled, followed by Amber's tinkling laughter.

"Poor little diplomat," she cooed. "All those treaties, and she still doesn't understand what really matters to an Alpha."

My jaw tightened as their words sliced through me. Six years of diplomatic triumphs reduced to mockery. Six years of building Silvermoon's security and prosperity while…