Layla's POV
The lock slid back into place as soon as Gabriel was sure that Kian was gone. The echo of it slamming into place seemed to reverberate loudly in the apartment and then it was gone, leaving everything silent once more.
Freja still paced in my head, calmer now, but still anticipating another knock on the door that didn't come.
Gabriel hadn't moved from the position he had put himself in at the wall and his arms stayed crossed in front of him. His wolf hadn't relaxed, not even a fraction and the air still carried the traces of his aura, heavy and unbroken, a silent warning to anything outside that might try to push its way in.
I turned toward the counter. The glass of water I had left there was half-empty, condensation sliding slow toward the ring it had left on the
