Liam’s POV
Ava didn’t say a word as she pulled away from me and walked into the kitchen. But she didn’t need to—I could see it in the tightness of her shoulders, in the way her fingers curled into fists at her sides.
She was terrified.
And that alone was enough to set my wolf on edge.
I didn’t stop her. Didn’t press her for more words she wasn’t ready to say. Instead, I stayed where I was, watching as she moved around the kitchen with a quiet kind of urgency. She wasn’t just cooking. She was trying to distract herself, to find control in the familiarity of chopping, stirring, tasting.
So I let her have that.
I sat at the table, my gaze flickering between her and the window. Every sound outside, every shift in the wind, had my muscles coiling, ready to react. I hated this—hated knowin
