"Shall I look into it?"
The question landed as casually as an executive ordering coffee, yet it made my heart stutter.
I turned to Elara, eyes wide.
"Didn't you say you'd be buried in work for the next week? The crackdown?"
"It's not that difficult to investigate someone, Lyra," she said, her voice smooth and devoid of doubt.
For a second, my face brightened with a relief so sharp it was almost painful. If it was Elara, she would track Alex down before the sun set. She had resources I couldn't even fathom.
But then, the sparkle in my eyes dimmed. I could already see the scene: Alex, prideful and territorial, discovering I was living in a gilded cage owned by a dominant alpha. He would be furious. He'd think I'd sold my soul for silk sheets and high-end tonics.
But was his pride really the priority?
The image of him in a cold cell, or worse, face-down in a rain-slicked alley, far outweighed my hesitation.
I took a shaky breath and nodded with a solemn, heavy resolve.
