NINA'S POV
His gaze held mine, raw and unguarded. For once, the weight of his title, his responsibilities, all of it… was stripped away.
I barely breathed, afraid to shatter the fragile moment.
Then, so softly I almost didn’t hear it, he exhaled, “No one.”
My heart clenched.
I knew what it was like to feel alone, to bear a burden too heavy for one person. But Zane? He wasn’t supposed to feel that way. He was the Alpha. The one everyone looked to for strength. For protection… Or so I thought.
I wasn’t sure if it was instinct or something else entirely, but I wanted to reach for him, all the way across the room, to brush that strand that hung over his face and comfort him.
“Then maybe,” I murmured, despite the sudden tightness in my throat, “it’s about time that changed.”
