(Kaelan’s POV)
I stood in the dark corridor of the apartment, my back pressed against the cold wall. Rhea’s voice—“don’t come closer”—still echoed in my ears. Those words were sharper than any enemy’s claw, cutting deeper than any wound I’d ever received in battle.
For the first time in far too long, I felt fragile.
Not because of an enemy’s attack. Not because of the Elders. But because of one simple sentence from a girl who didn’t even know who I really was.
Behind that door, Rhea was crying in fear after seeing me—my true form. And out here, I had to stand tall, keep the pride of an Alpha, pretend I was unshaken. The cruelest irony: I could terrify enemy soldiers with a single growl, but I couldn’t ease the fear of one girl.
My fists clenched so hard my nails nearly pierced skin. M
