Nolan POV
I ordered the lockdown before I reached the packhouse.
No deliberation. No council vote. No waiting for confirmation that would only arrive too late.
“Seal the outer gates. Activate full internal wards. No one enters or leaves without my approval,” I said into the comm, my voice ironed flat by necessity. “I want rotating guards on every level, double presence near the nursery. Quietly.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
By the time I stepped through the main doors, the shift was already happening—subtle, disciplined, practiced. Doors closed with soft finality. Wards deepened, the air humming just beneath perception. Warriors moved into position without panic, without spectacle.
A fortress pretending to be a home.
I found Ellie exactly where I’d left her.
The nursery w
