The forest fell quiet.
Not the silence of peace.
But the aftermath of violence.
Lucien stood there, blood dripping from his fists, his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, rage and something darker simmering beneath his skin as his eyes locked on Anana through the shadows.
She hadn’t moved from the bush.
She couldn’t.
She watched him like he was a storm wearing human skin, untamed , unpredictable and terrifyingly beautiful. There was blood on his cheek. A smear darkened the sharp line of his collarbone. His breathing slowed but that energy, that raw power radiating from him hadn't dimmed the slightest.
He didn’t speak.
Neither did she.
He stepped toward her slowly. Not as the brutal Alpha who had just spilled blood with his bare hands. But as a man stripped bare of power and f
