As soon as Grace's footsteps faded down the corridor, I was left alone with Elliot standing across from me. The space between us felt heavier than it should have—like a broken mate bond refusing to dissolve completely.
I kept my expression controlled, but inside, something bitter and unsettled kept rising. My instincts reacted before my logic could silence them, and I hated that my body still remembered him.
Elliot suddenly turned his head and coughed, the sound sharp in the quiet air. Rey immediately stepped forward, concern flashing in his eyes. "President Presgrave, you didn't take your pack medicine this morning."
My gaze snapped to him despite myself.
He looked… different. Paler. Thinner around the edges of his dominance aura, like something vital had been drained from him. For a brief moment, my instincts registered it as weakness in an Alpha who never allowed himself to appear vulnerable.
