lena
"What are you doing here?" Rafe asked, his voice steady and low.
I'd tried falling sleep but his words had been floating in my head all night— “I’ll make sure you survive them." I kept seeing his eyes, the way he touched me like I mattered. Like I wasn’t just something to own.
So I slipped out of bed. The house was dark and quiet, too quiet. I padded to the kitchen without thinking. Rafe was there.
He stood at the sink, rinsing a glass, slow and quiet. His shoulders stiffened when he saw me, but his face didn’t harden. Not like the others.
"I couldn't sleep," I answered, my eyes locked on his.
"You shouldn't be here."
I stepped closer, watching him. Ignoring his words, I continued. “You meant it, didn’t you?”
His brows pulled together. “Meant what?”
“That you’d protect me. F
