Esther’s POV
Kevin’s scent reached me before his voice did. Pine and iron, sharp as a storm front. I’d been in the palace infirmary checking inventory when the alarms rippled through the halls. There were raised voices, hurried boots, then a Beta’s barked orders. By the time I reached the main hall, the guards were already lined like black dominoes, shields up but eyes uneasy.
And there he was, shoulders squared, rage rolling off him in waves. Kevin. My oldest ally. My closest almost-everything. My problem.
“Where is she?” His voice cracked across the marble floor. “I know she’s here. I’m not leaving without her.”
A tremor went through the guards. None of them wanted to be the one to take the first swipe at an Alpha.
My throat tightened. If Nicholas’s people tried to push Kevin back,
