Beatrice's POV
They stopped outside my cell.
The air shifted.
I lifted my head slowly.
The man standing beyond the bars was not a guard.
He wore no pack colors. No council insignia. His cloak was dark, unmarked, and old in the way only deliberate anonymity could be. His hair was streaked with grey, his posture relaxed in a way that made my skin prickle.
Power recognized power.
And mine recoiled.
"You're far from home," I said hoarsely. My voice sounded weird from lack of use, but it will have to do.
The man smiled faintly. Not kindly. Not cruelly.
"Home is relative," he replied. "And I go where I'm needed."
I studied him through the bars. "You're not supposed to be here."
"No," he agreed. "But then, neither are you."
I laughed softly, a bitter sound. "I earned my chains."
"Did you?" he asked mildly.
The question struck deeper than it should have.
"I betrayed my Luna," I said. "I helped undermine the Alpha. I deserve whatever fate waits for me."
