Silence stretched between them again — but this time, it wasn't the heavy silence of grief or fear. It was something fragile and uncertain, a quiet space where words were no longer necessary.
Livia looked at him — really looked — and saw more than the ruthless Lycan King everyone feared. She saw the man who had sat by her bedside all night, the man who ended a trial against his council's will just to keep her alive, the man whose heart, for once, was laid bare before her.
And though she didn't know what to do with the truth he had just given her, she didn't push it away. She can't, because she knows that he will just push it more, so she can no longer escape. He already claimed her.
"Rest now," he murmured, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. "The fight isn't over yet. But I promise you, Livia — this time, you won't fight it alone." His promise, makes her more scared because behind those promises hide a dark obsession.
