Chapter Fourteen – The Weight of Apology
Tristan
The fire in his office had burned low, but Tristan couldn’t bring himself to stoke it. He paced instead, back and forth across the thick rug, every step heavy with words he couldn’t quite string together.
An Alpha wasn’t supposed to falter. He was supposed to command, to protect, to decide. But when he pictured Evandra’s face—tear-streaked, lips trembling, wrists bound like a criminal—his chest tightened until it felt like he couldn’t draw breath.
You should have gone to her the moment Liora spoke, Thorne snarled inside him, the wolf’s voice sharp with accusation. She is our mate, Tristan. Ours. And you tied her down like prey for hunters.
Tristan’s jaw flexed, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “I know.” His voice cracked th
