For a brief moment, Hayley's body slackened in Nigel's arms, her consciousness flickering like a fading pulse in the pack's emotional field. Nigel immediately lowered her to her feet, his instincts tightening as the surrounding energy shifted.
A servant rushed forward through the corridor, breathless and alarmed. "Miss Seymour! I've been searching everywhere for you!"
"What is going on here?" Brenda's voice cut through the tension like a warning growl from a senior pack female.
The servant bowed quickly. "Y-Young Master Elliot instructed that Miss Seymour dine in the side hall. She was not meant to be here."
The moment those words landed, the atmosphere changed.
My gaze lifted—and met Hayley's.
