Tianlong's eyes met Akane's golden gaze with what appeared to be genuine bewilderment, his naked form swaying slightly as if the effort of standing was taxing his injured body.
"I don't know," he repeated, his voice carrying the hollow confusion of someone grasping at fragments of memory. "Everything is... pieces. Broken glass in my mind."
But Akane wasn't the same weeping, emotional wreck from the night before.
The composed, dangerous fox matriarch had returned—nine tails spread behind her in a display of barely contained power, golden eyes sharp with calculation and growing suspicion as they swept over the scene before her.
Her gaze lingered on how closely Yu Xiang stood beside the naked man, noting the protective way the human woman had positioned herself. The intimacy was obvious, undeniable, and it made something cold twist in Akane's chest.
