Alpha Theo Hayes greeted me the way someone greets a ticking bomb.
Carefully. Calmly. And with the unspoken hope that I didn't explode in his face.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, shoulders straight, eyes sharp enough to cut bark off trees. His presence pressed through the clearing like gravity. Jack and Beau stiffened reflexively, both wolves dropping into instinctive stillness before they could help it.
I didn't bow.
I didn't even blink.
Theo’s gaze flicked to me, curious. “Lainey. Walk with me.”
Jack immediately stepped closer. “Dad, wait.”
“Jack,” Theo said, not raising his voice, not looking away, yet somehow ending the conversation entirely, “walk behind us.”
Beau moved to his brother’s side automatically. I could feel both of them bristling behind me, their
