ALICIA
I studied him for a long moment, letting the silence stretch. Eric didn’t rush to fill it. That alone told me something important.
“Sit,” I said finally, gesturing to the fallen log opposite mine.
He obeyed without hesitation, long limbs folding with controlled grace. Up close, the instability in his bond was clearer, not weakness, but restraint stretched too tight, like ice holding back a rising tide.
“You’re struggling,” I said plainly.
Eric’s jaw tightened. “Yes.”
No denial, no excuses.
“My wolf,” he continued after a breath, “has never accepted half-measures. He feels you as… inevitability. And inevitability is hard to wait for.”
I nodded slowly. “You didn’t argue for more time with me. You didn’t challenge Ethan. You didn’t snarl when the others did.”
His mouth curved
