ALEXANDER
I hadn’t realized when exhaustion finally caught up to me.
One moment, I had been sitting behind my desk, staring into space, mentally going over tomorrow’s plan for what felt like the hundredth time, and the next—
A howl ripped through the night.
My eyes snapped open instantly.
Every muscle in my body tightened as I jerked upright in the chair.
The sound echoed through the territory again.
Aiden surged awake immediately.
"Alpha."
Aiden’s voice came sharp inside my head, carrying the unmistakable edge of challenge beneath it.
I was already standing before the sound fully faded into the night.
My pulse had quickened automatically now.
Because I knew that howl.
Not the wolf itself.
But what it was.
There was no mistaking the energy behind it.
That was an alpha howl.
