ALDRIC
The strawberry touched my tongue and the sourness struck me in a way that felt rude. A small violation. A reminder that the world had corners I had not smoothed yet. I let it fall from my mouth and watched it hit the marble with a soft wet slap. The red spread across the floor, lively and wild. A little chaos staining a perfect room.
"Who picked this."
The sentinel behind me shifted. I heard the slow tension in his leather boots. Fear always had a sound if you were patient enough to listen.
"I am not sure, Alpha."
"Well find them. Bring them."
He left without hesitation, which pleased me. I always admired people who knew how to leave a room at the right moment, like good background music fading when the scene demands quiet.
I took another strawberry from the bowl. It was beautiful. Red like a secret. Glossy like a lie. It reminded me of half the people I had known. Perfect on the surface and disappointing where it mattered.
My phone buzzed.
It was an unknown number.
