CHAPTER 57

Alpha Ador P.O.V

Tension was palpable, as Relon walked confidently towards us, all his features unreadable yet serious. Time seemed to slow in the flash of an instant, and visions danced inside my head-the day he left without a word-the day he saw me talking to Miranda at that coffee shop. I have never seen him that way before. The coldness he put into his silence and Miranda's fury said it all.

I would never have pegged him to return.

Relon was my beta for some years. The guy made a great friend and confidant, always standing on my side whenever I needed him. He was loyal, dependable, and sharp-- a true leader in my absence. But on the day he left, I came to realize that there was more to him that I didn't know, or at least, the extent of his connection with Miranda. She and I had quite the complicated history, and in many ways, Relon was caught right in the middle of it all without my even realizing it. Now, here he stood before me, as if burdened with the weight of the world upon h