Lucien’s POV
The air in my bedroom was suffocating, heavy with a tension I couldn’t shake. Every breath I took felt shallow, my chest constricting as though the walls themselves were closing in on me. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, clawing at the edges of my sanity.
“She’s here,” it whispered, dark and demanding. “So close. Let me see her.”
I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, digging my claws into my palms to keep them from fully extending. I had promised myself I’d control this for Olivia’s sake. But every second she was near, my resolve frayed a little more.
I couldn’t stay here. Not like this.
Before I realized it, I was moving, my body acting on autopilot. The bathroom was my sanctuary—a small space where I could breathe, where I could drown the beast’s voice in
