Arda hadn’t bothered to watch the road.
She had spent the last thirty minutes crying, her shoulders trembling with every sob. Her cries had quieted now, replaced by a hollow silence. Grief lingered in her downcast eyes as Karina held her close, whispering soft words of encouragement.
“It’s going to be okay,” Karina said, her voice steady but gentle. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll be fine.”
The words offered a fragile kind of comfort, but they did little to push back the fear gnawing at Arda’s chest. Her voice trembled as she whispered, “They’re so big.” Her eyes flickered nervously toward the men dominating the front seat, their broad shoulders and towering frames making her feel even smaller. “Is the Alpha like them?”
The image of the man from the café surfaced in her mind—the hunter she ha
