Serena did not wait for permission to enter the lower hall.
She never had.
Even before Alessandro had taken the Alpha's mantle—
She had walked like the floor belonged to her.
Tonight—
She walked like the fracture did.
Her heels clicked once against stone before she stopped at the threshold of the command room, watching the way the security feeds flickered across the wall in pale surveillance glow.
Movement.
Thermal signatures shifting along the east wing.
Interior patrols breaking formation.
And Alessandro—
Standing too still in the middle of it.
Hmm.
"Contact confirmed on the lower service stair," Marco's voice murmured from the console.
Serena ignored him.
Because this wasn't about the breach.
This was about what came after.
"She weakens you."
The words slipped out quietly.
Deliberate.
Sharp enough to matter.
Alessandro didn't turn.
Didn't acknowledge.
Didn't deny.
Outside—
Another impact shuddered faintly through the structure.
Followed by a low—
Grrr—
