I stared at him, but I no longer knew what I was looking at.
This was not the man who had trained me how to fight when I was too small to even hold a blade properly. This was not the man who had stood beside my father during every gathering, every decision, every moment that defined our pack.
This was not the man I trusted.
And yet… he was.
My chest tightened painfully as I tried to steady my breathing. The room felt smaller now, heavier, like the air itself had thickened around us.
“You’re lying,” I said, but my voice did not hold the same certainty as before.
Kael did not react to the accusation. He did not defend himself or argue. He simply watched me, his expression calm in a way that made something inside me twist.
“I expected you to say that,” he replied.
“Because it’s the tr
