Max didn't flinch. He met my eyes with a steady, respectful gaze. "I found a note on the perimeter, Alpha. It was pinned to a tree. I thought it was important for her to see it."
"A note from whom?"
"I don't know. The sender was gone by the time I reached the woods. But it was addressed to her. It said: The princess returns to a house built on bones."
I felt a cold sensation in my gut. The bones. They were talking about the catacombs under the estate.
"And why did you give it to her instead of me? Or her father?"
"She asked me not to, Alpha," Max said, his voice lowering. "She said she wanted to handle it herself. She said she needed to prove she wasn't a child."
I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, slamming him against the side of his car. The metal groaned under the force. "You work for me, Max. Not for her. If she asks you to keep a secret that involves a threat to her life, you tell me immediately. Do you understand?"
