Not yet.
I’d just have to be more careful. Or more creative.
We reached Rose’s door. He didn’t turn to face me fully. Instead, he kept his body angled away, one hand on the knob but not opening it yet. His grey eyes slid over me like I was something unclean. “I want to believe you,” he murmured. The words sounded almost sincere, but they were pure psychological leverage—doubt dressed as reluctant hope. It forced me to chase validation he had no intention of giving. “You’ve given me a daughter. You’ve stood by this pack. But love and duty aren’t the same, Selene. If someone is hurting Rose… even unintentionally… I will remove them. For her sake. For the pack.”
He opened the door without another word.
Rose’s room smelled of lavender. The little girl sat on the edge of her bed in a pale n
