“Nana is what?” I asked, standing so close to Clara that I could see the faint tremble in her lower lip.
Answer me, Clara!
She said nothing. Her eyes were empty, flat, like she had already decided how this would end.
The restaurant lights cast long shadows across her face, making her look older than she was.
The silence stretched between us for a while.
“Clara,” I said, keeping my voice low, “I’ve known you for years. I know when you’re lying and when you’re telling the truth. I’m the Alpha—I could interrogate you until you break, and I wouldn’t lose sleep over the methods. But I won’t do that to you. You were the only female friend I ever kept close. I still cherish what we had back then. Nothing more.”
Clara’s eyes filled with tears. They spilled over and ran down her cheeks in s
