Beaumo

a suffocating silence, broke

completely, leaving behind something raw and ugly. Alys stood beside her in her nightgown, pale and confused, her fingers twisting nervously in the fabric of her mother's slee

his shadow long and sharp across the marble floor. His rigid posture radiated a fury more terrifying than any shout - the kind that needed no voice to be felt

st act of my revenge was complete - Dudley was in the cellar, Candis's scheme

hing her mother, her eyes restless. Donovan, useless as ever. Grandfather, a storm contained in the rigi

Br

was

thout being observed. All empty. He had been there minutes ago, standing quietly with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression a perfect study in c

f pause between one sob and the next, Candis lifted her head. Her swollen eyes swept the room, searching - and

ine, bone-

here he had gone. And that single flash of terror, there a

aning up l

ed shriek cut through t

ercing, the sound of someone who had stumbled upon something no one should ever see. Alys flinched violently. Her hand flew to her mouth, but it was not surprise that widen

ot the details, but enoug

I had never seen the old butler lose his composure. He was losing it now. He walked directly to my gran

... Dudley Nixo

half genuine horror. Alys gripped her mother's sl

y the firelight. His sharp grey eyes fixed on Jenson with an intensity that could sh

bbing with the effort of delivering such news to the master he had served hi

ab

uards, locked in a cellar under watch - and then ends up with a blade through his heart? This was not an accident. This was

room once more -

irs. He stood perfectly still, his hands at his sides, his face arranged into a careful canvas of shock

e thing he could

ed it with grief. The look of a chess player who had just captured a critical

ellar, found Dudley alone and helpless in the dark, and driven a blade into his heart. He had silenced the one man who could testify to the ful

wayed, just slightly, and for one terrible heartbeat I feared he might collapse. But he caught himself. His hand found the back of a chair and grip

le twisting the corner of his mouth. "Alpha Dean Conley of the Stoneclaw pack is due to arrive within

ter. Dean Conley. Even Brant's careful mask slipped, just

s voice at last. He stepped forward, hands outstretched in des

ze in his father's eyes. "A man has been murdered on my land. On Beaumont land. T

voice ringing through the

the Pack Enf