The atmosphere in the mountaintop villa was beyond heavy—it was suffocating.
Those who stood remained frozen; those who sat barely breathed, as if even the air shimmered with an undercurrent of barely restrained animal instinct.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the moonlight was veiled behind thick clouds, but every so often a sliver of cold silver pierced through, glinting faintly in several pairs of eyes that shimmered unnaturally.
They were all suppressing it—containing the restless wolf inside.
When Charles saw Tara brought back by Gustave, he merely issued a brief order before quickly leaving.
There was no need to ask.
From the tightness in Waldo's jaw and the whitened knuckles of his clenched fingers, Charles already knew who had returned the "Smile" to him.
Others might not understand who Richard of the Red Moon Pack truly was, but Charles and Waldo knew all too well.
