The words remained suspended in the command chamber long after the whisper had faded, and for several heartbeats nobody seemed capable of moving because the meaning was far more frightening than the voice itself. Alessandro stood beside the table with his hand hovering above the broken Alpha crest, staring at the two pieces as though he could somehow force them back together through sheer will.
Around him, commanders struggled to remain composed while the sudden absence of their Alpha bond left them visibly unsettled, and beyond the walls of Regina Central Command, the same invisible rupture was spreading through hundreds of wolves who had never expected to experience a moment when their connection to the throne simply ceased to exist. Elara stepped closer to Alessandro, her fingers trembling slightly as she reached for his hand, and when he finally allowed her to take it, she felt how cold his skin had become.
