Alec’s

Sadie

Raven and I sat side by side in the large conference room. Last night, before Alec left my room after kissing Aspen goodnight, he had reminded me of today's meeting. Something that I had completely forgotten

The room was quiet, thick with silence and tension that sat heavy on everyone's shoulders. We'd been here for ten minutes already, just waiting.

I leaned back in the stiff chair and glanced around the table.

Jason looked like he hadn't slept in two days, which was probably true. His eyes were shadowed, his jaw tight, and even his posture was beginning to slump with the weight of exhaustion. Micah sat beside him, silent, arms crossed, staring at the table like he was mentally running through every scenario he'd already played out a hundred times.

And Raven... Raven was unreadable, but I noticed the way she kept clenching her fists beneath the table, the way her foot tapped a quiet rhythm against the stone floor. She was trying to keep her control in check. Trying to hold herself together like the rest of us.

This whole operation was bleeding us dry. Slowly. Quietly.

I dragged my eyes to the last person in the room-Alec.

He hadn't said a word since we sat down. Just stared ahead, brows drawn, hands folded on the table in that way that made it look like he had complete control. Like he was calm. But I'd seen through that look before. I knew the set of his jaw meant he was grinding his teeth. That his foot tapped once, quiet and low, every time he was stressed.

He was tired too. But he wouldn't show it.

And goddess help me, even like this-worn down and simmering with frustration -I couldn't look away.

The full moon was only two weeks away. I felt it in every part of me. In the way my skin prickled with awareness, the way my breath caught in my throat when he was next to me. Like everything inside me was slowly being rewired. Like my body wasn't mine anymore-it was his, and it knew it.

The pull toward him was getting harder to ignore. It felt hungry. Like something was curling and clawing under my skin, begging to be let out. Heat burned low in my stomach and made me feel half-wild, half-ashamed. I clenched my thighs beneath the table and forced my eyes away from him.

I hated how much of a grip the bond had on me. It made me feel out of control. Made me feel weak.

But it wasn't just the full moon, if I am being honest.noveldrama

It was him.

I hated this feeling. I hated that the bond made me want him.

I shifted in my seat and crossed my legs, swallowing against the dryness in my throat. I could feel the start of heat building already. That deep ache in my chest, in my core like I was being lit from the inside out.

And with Alec this close, I was a damn flame waiting to catch.

Can he feel it too? Can he feel the effects the oncoming full moon has on me?

I took a slow breath through my nose, trying to steady myself, trying to be something other than just a body that craved his. There was too much at stake. Too many lives on the fine. I wasn't going to allow the

bond to take precedence.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the door creaked open, snapping everyone to attention.

The Elders had arrived.

The door creaked wider, and eight elders filled the room. No greetings. No wasted time. Just the rustle of coats, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor.

They took their seats. One of them-Elder Orion-leaned forward, folding his weathered hands in front of him.

"We'll get straight to it," he said, voice rough like worn gravel. "You asked for updates on Kaden."

My stomach tightened. I nodded once. "Yes. Have you found anything new?"

A brief silence passed before Elder

Lillian answered, "No. Not yet. We've scoured everything in our

vel

possession-our libraries, our scrolls even the oldest oral

accounts. There's nothing on him.

Not even a whisper."