The tension in the archive tower was suffocating. The shattered doorframe crackled as splinters fell to the stone floor. Lily’s heart pounded as she faced Raphael, his golden eyes locked onto hers, unreadable yet intense.
The guards lingered behind him, waiting for his command. Their weapons were drawn but lowered, uncertain now that their Alpha hesitated.
Kyra inched closer to Lily, her sharp gaze darting between Raphael and the guards. “This is bad,” she muttered under her breath.
Lily didn’t need the warning. She already knew.
Raphael had caught her—again. But something had shifted. The way he had stopped the guards from attacking her… the way his grip on her wrist had been firm, yet hesitant.
He wasn’t just following the council’s orders anymore.
He was conflicted.
And that gave
