ETHAN
It had been two days since Ruby arrived at the Pack, and in all that time, she’d spoken not a word. She wielded silence like a weapon, and I was its only target. No matter what I said, no matter how patient or gentle I tried to be, she remained utterly indifferent. Her eyes were dull and distant, as though I simply didn’t exist.
And somehow, that hurt more than any scream, any fight, or any insult she could have thrown at me. The absolute erasure was suffocating.
I told myself she just needed time to adjust, time to understand and finally see that she wasn't my prisoner, but protected. But every passing hour made that belief harder to hold onto.
She barely touched the food we brought her. She utterly refused to leave her room. And when I'd offered to show her around the Pack,
