Chapter 26. The Alpha’s Anchor

Kaelen moved through the stronghold like a storm contained only by will. The whispers had reached him minutes ago—Mira, the gardens, the guards bringing her in bleeding, Eleanor’s decree. Each word struck like a lash. His pulse thundered. Fury burned through him, not the reckless kind, but the cold, precise anger of a man who’d been pushed too far.

He didn’t remember crossing the main corridor. He only knew the air shifted when he entered the sitting room, heavy with the scent of blood and lavender. Eleanor stood before the hearth, her posture immaculate, speaking to the two guards who had escorted Mira back. Both men were pale, one with his arm bandaged, the other refusing to meet Kaelen’s eyes.

“She slipped into the gardens alone,” Eleanor was saying, her voice composed, every word calculated. “Had they not intervened, who knows what might have happened? A Luna cannot be allowed to act on impulse. She doesn’t understand the weight of her role. She needs firmer discipli