***Banes POV***
His silence stretched too long. Lizzy’s eyes narrowed, sharp as a blade.
“You’re not going to do anything, are you?” she said, voice low but cutting. “You’ll just keep standing there, guarding secrets, while Katherine coils tighter around him.”
“Lizzy—” His tone carried warning, but she cut through it like it was smoke.
“No. If you won’t move, I will.” She turned on her heel, steps quick and furious, headed straight for the pack house.
Instinct roared to life. Bane surged forward, catching her wrist before she could storm off. “Stop.”
She whirled back, eyes blazing, and for a moment the full force of the mate bond hit him square in the chest. The fire in her gaze wasn’t just anger—it was devotion, the kind that refused to stand idle while others suffered.
“Then stop
