Adrian's POV
I hadn't expected Lina to be so affected by my past.
But I felt her distress like a physical thing—tension radiating through her small frame pressed against mine.
Maybe this meant she was starting to accept me. Starting to let me in.
*Absolutely,* Raze rumbled in my mind.
But I didn't want to burden her. So I gentled my tone. Made it sound less significant than it was.
"Eventually I took control of Storm Pack. Built it into what it is today. After that, they couldn't control me anymore."
The ruthlessness I'd cultivated. The cold calculation. The brutal reputation—it had all been necessary to ensure no one could ever exile me again.
But she didn't need to know that.
She only needed to be safe under my protection.
But she lifted her head to look a
