The door shut with a heavy thud, silencing the storm she’d left behind.
Rayne Valen stood alone in her chambers, her breath shallow, her heart hammering like war drums in her chest. The fire had long since died out. The hearth was cold. Her hands trembled—but not from fear.
From fury.
From heartbreak.
From the way Lucian had looked at her when she said their relationship was complicated.
She hadn’t meant to humiliate him. Or herself.
But what was she supposed to say? That she still loved him? That her nights were haunted by memories of him? That despite all her strength, she still ached for the one thing she could never truly have?
No.
She was Alpha of Valen. And Lucian was not hers.
The door creaked open behind her.
She didn’t need to turn to know it was him.
Lucian closed the
