The First Encounters

The words hung in the damp air of the stone corridor. Mateo stared at me, his charming smirk wiped clean off his face, replaced by a stunned, wide-eyed expression. Prince Cassian remained perfectly still, but his dark eyes tracked my every breath, dissecting the coldness in my tone. Even the King and Alpha Rossi, walking a few paces behind us, exchanged a heavy, unreadable look. Nobody offered a r