Alec’s grip on Melissa’s wrist tightened just before he shoved her into the wall.
The thud echoed like thunder in the silent corridor of the mansion.
Melissa gasped, her back colliding with the cold, unforgiving surface. Before she could even blink, Alec caged her in—his hands flat against the wall on either side of her, his body looming close, too close. His presence was like a firestorm, devouring all the oxygen around her. The rage in his eyes wasn’t just anger—it was a furnace of something darker, something far more dangerous.
Melissa’s heart thundered in her chest, but her face… her face stayed unreadable. Calm. Still. It was the only armor she had left.
Because she knew.
She knew Alec only drew power from her fear. And today, she refused to give him that.
From a few feet away,
