Dorothy sighs, setting down her pencil. "There is no commission. That was just an excuse for Ethan."
Understanding dawns on Lila's face. "You're protecting him. After what he did."
"It's complicated," Dorothy says, turning back to her sketch. The broken heart takes shape beneath her fingers, each shard rendered with painful precision.
Outside, Ethan paces beneath the oak tree, his wolf's restlessness mirroring his own. Something has happened between his sister and his best friend, something significant enough to send Dorothy into tears and Magnus into an uncharacteristic state of distraction. The protective instinct that has guided his relationship with Dorothy since childhood urges him to demand answers, yet something holds him back.
Perhaps it's the memory of Dorothy's fierce indepen
