Chapter 29 The Invitation

• "The rival Alpha wasn't finished with me."
• The crimson wax seal stared back at me from the polished oak table, its crest sharp in the flickering candlelight. Not just any crest-a wolf's head, jaws thrown wide in a perpetual snarl, surrounded by curling vines of iron that seemed to writhe in the dancing shadows. The Wicke family mark, ancient and arrogant, carved deep into the blood-red wax.
• My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, hackles rising at the sight of it. Even in this small token, Gideon's presence felt invasive, predatory. The scent of the scroll itself carried traces of his territory-pine smoke and something sharper, metallic, like the taste of blood on winter air.