The castle settled into uneasy silence after midnight.

Guards patrolled every corridor. Axel’s soldiers controlled the entrances, the infirmary records, and the servants’ wing. Silverbrook’s council elders had been confined to their residences until questioning began.

The hidden door opened with the grinding roar of stone dragged across stone.

Blinding moonlight poured from the chamber beyond, though Harper knew they were buried deep beneath the old Silverbrook chapel. The light was too pure and too cold to have come from the sk

The vault became silent except for Landon’s ragged breathing.

Axel’s elite guards moved with disciplined efficiency. They secured Thomas first, fastening silver-infused restraints around his wrists and ankles. The metal suppressed his wolf and prevented him from