Claire’s POV
Alpha? Oh God. It’s a cult.
The word lands, and my first instinct isn’t fear but disbelief. It flickers through me, sharp and incredulous, too absurd to laugh at, but no one here is playing with language. No one is teasing or exaggerating for effect.
This isn’t a metaphor. It isn’t some ironic nickname traded over champagne and polite smiles.
The title scrapes against everything I understand about hierarchy and power. I’ve read about elite circles, closed societies, old-money networks that operate quietly on favors and bloodlines, but this feels different. My pulse accelerates, not fluttering but pounding, as if my body registers the shift before my mind can categorize it. Blood rushes loudly in my ears, a low roar that drowns out the cold air and the crunch of snow benea
