Lucien’s jaw tightened.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
He simply stared at Lyra, his silver eyes fixed on hers.
But something inside him was changing.
The beast.
It had been quiet for days, restrained beneath layers of control and discipline. Lucien had spent centuries learning how to command it, how to silence its instincts before they became dangerous.
But Lyra made that control feel fragile.
Her scent filled his senses.
Her heartbeat seemed impossibly loud.
Every breath she took made something primal inside him pull harder.
His eyes slowly darkened.
Lyra noticed.
“Lucien?”
He looked away immediately.
His hands clenched at his sides.
He needed distance.
Now.
Because the thoughts entering his mind were becoming increasingly difficult to control.
He wanted to pull
