The silence between them stretched, heavy and thick like the air before a storm. Lyra's heart pounded in her chest, her body still trembling from exhaustion and the weight of her confrontation with Kael. She could feel the unspoken tension between them—the words that lingered in the space, unsaid but heavy with meaning.
Kael stood a few feet away, watching her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. She could see the conflict in his eyes, the struggle between the dark power he craved and the strange tenderness he had begun to show her. It was as if he were caught between two selves—the cold, ruthless Alpha she had come to fear, and the man who, despite everything, seemed to care about her.
But how could she trust that care? How could she trust him?
