The silence that followed was suffocating, pressing against Mikhail’s ribs like a tightening noose. His breath was steady, his muscles coiled, but inside? Inside, he was unraveling.
Gino was supposed to be human. Gino was supposed to be weak.
But now?
Mikhail’s eyes locked onto the sharp, gleaming fangs curving over his father’s smirking lips, the eerie glow of his irises that weren’t human anymore.
Makayla was still beside him, frozen, barely breathing. Her fingers curled tighter around the hilt of her blade, but she hadn’t moved, hadn’t attacked.
Because this wasn’t what they were expecting.
This changed everything.
Gino exhaled slowly, tilting his head. “Not going to say anything?”
Mikhail’s jaw clenched.
His father laughed, the sound low and pleased, like a predator toying wit
