Evaline:
By the time I stepped into the Council headquarters, the morning sun was already high in the sky, casting a warm glow through the tall windows that were lining the hallway.
My sneakers made no noise at all against the marble floors as I made my way toward River's office.
It had been three weeks since the Alpha Gathering incident, but the tension was still clinging between us like a second layer. I wasn't sure if I was ready for another encounter with the Rogue Alpha King, not after how things went the previous weekend.
But when I entered his office and found the room empty, I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding.
Good. No River.
I didn't waste any time. I dropped my bag on the guest chair and got to work. There were still a dozen reports to review, a stack of letters to respond to, and an overwhelming amount of coordination updates from the border patrol teams to filter and file.
