Aysel's POV The attendants had already cleared the hall and withdrawn, their footsteps fading into the stone corridors of the old Shadowbane stronghold. I sat alone on the long leather couch, scrolling my phone without truly seeing anything. Alpha Bastien had collapsed earlier tonight, but the unease in my chest refused to settle. If anything, it grew sharper-my wolf, pacing tight circles behind my ribs. Time slipped strangely in the silence. Maybe an hour, maybe two. Rain hammered the roof overhead, the storm thick with wild lunar energy, and my eyelids grew heavy. I must have dozed off. Because when I jolted awake, a broad-shouldered, honest-faced middle-aged pack warrior stood beside me, shifting his weight awkwardly-clearly unsure whether he should wake me. The moment our eyes met, he brightened. "Miss Aysel," he said quickly, "Alpha Magnus says the old fortress isn't safe tonight. I've been ordered to escort you back to Moonvale territory." My brows drew together. "And Magnus? Where is he?" The Shadowbane driver scratched the back of his neck. "Alpha should still be... occupied." Most of the drivers had already gone with the others to the healer's hall where Alpha Bastien was taken. He was the only one left on standby tonight. He had been secretly relieved-until he suddenly received this assignment. He was clearly curious why the Shadowbane Alpha would send me out into a storm this late, but as a subordinate wolf, he could only obey orders. Seeing he genuinely knew nothing, I didn't press him. I simply rose to my feet. "Let's go." It didn't matter where I slept. But something in the air felt wrong-off in a way my wolf wouldn't stop growling about. We stepped out under an umbrella. Instinct made me look back. Through the roaring rain, the massive Shadowbane ancestral fortress hunched in the darkness like a slumbering beast-lightning slicing across its stone fangs. Standing beside the vehicle, I suddenly asked, "What about the driver who brought us earlier?" The man paused, remembering. "He said he was taking Alpha Magnus to the healers. He should've left by now." No. A cold thrum raced along my spine. I placed a hand on the door he opened for me, voice tightening. "Did Magnus personally call you?" He shook his head. "No, miss." "Then was it the steward?" "Also no." He blinked, confused by my intensity but answering honestly. "A familiar servant passed the message. He said Alpha Magnus wanted me to take you. That's all." Impossible. Call it arrogance or instinct, but I knew-knew-Magnus Sanchez would never abandon me in this fortress without a word. Not because he cared about propriety. Because the night was dangerous-roads slick, shadows unstable, the storm full of lunar surges. He hated the Sanchez family politics, but he would never send me out into this storm alone. Just earlier, he'd told me to return to the Greenbamboo Wing to rest when I tired. Which meant, very clearly, he intended for me to remain here, in the fortress, tonight. No. Something was terribly wrong. Mia snarled inside me, hackles rising. I clenched my lips together and dialed Magnus.First attempt-no connection. I tried again. Second. Third. All three spiraled into silence. My pulse spiked as I immediately called Jackson. "Jackson-bring a team to the Shadowbane fortress. Now. Immediately." Hanging up, I turned to the driver. "Did you drive this car here yourself?" My urgency must have rattled him-he shook his head quickly. "No, miss. I was going to the underground garage, but this one had already been brought to the entrance. Someone told me to use it so we wouldn't block the main gate." In the rain-blurred darkness, my expression went cold. "Stay with this vehicle. Do not let anyone touch it." He swallowed and nodded. I turned toward the fortress. And without hesitation- I ran. Straight into the storm, back toward the Shadowbane halls. ... Counting tonight, this was only my second time setting paw inside the Shadowbane ancestral grounds. The place was enormous-ancient and labyrinthine. For someone unfamiliar with the layout, trying to find one wolf inside it felt like plunging into a maze with no map. But I didn't stop.Because something had gone deeply, dangerously wrong.