Ryan’s POV
The moment is electric, the air thick with tension, the kind that makes every hair on my arms and neck stand on end, every muscle in my body coiled and ready, every sense sharpened to a knife’s edge as I step fully into the moonlight, facing Lucas at last, the rogue Alpha whose arrogance and cruelty have brought this battle to our doorstep, and whose very presence challenges everything I am, everything I protect, everything I will not allow him to touch. His grin, wide and infuriating, stretches across his face as if the night itself is his to command, his eyes glittering with the knowledge that he believes he has won even before we exchange blows, but I do not flinch, I do not hesitate, I do not betray even a fraction of doubt, because I know exactly who I am, and I know exact
