DALTON POV
We slipped into bed without another word.
Half a fight.
Half a reassurance.
Zero resolution.
The kind of silence that settles between three people when nothing’s fixed—but you’re too damn tired to keep unraveling it.
Kai curled up between us, her back to me.
Not in anger. Not in fear.
Just… closed off. Guarded.
Her breath hitched once, then evened out.
She was asleep.
But not at peace.
Not yet.
I stayed still. Perfectly still. Listening to the rhythm of her breathing, the warmth of her wolf pressing against ours. Instinctively, I let out a low, steady rumble—a calming sound, deep in my chest. Derrick did the same on the other side of her.
Her fingers twitched once in response. Then silence.
Behind her back, I mouthed more than whispered, “She looked me in the eye,
