He steps back, jaw tight.
She nods to me.“You’re safe.Truly safe.No one here will touch you without permission.”
Permission.Another thing I’m not used to.Peyton doesn’t push further.She just leaves a tray of what I can smell is chicken broth and water on the dresser and backs out with a gentle smile.
Silas closes the door again, leaning on it for a moment as if steadying himself.Then he returns to his chair, not approaching and not demanding.Just being there.Quiet, present, and steady.
A warmth spreads through me, unfamiliar and frightening.I don’t understand it.I don’t trust it.But I don’t hate it.I curl under the blanket, trembling while I stare at him.He watches me with an expression that scares me more than the Hunters ever did.
Hope.
Chapter Three
Silas
Aria is trembling no matter how still she tries to hold herself, and it shreds something raw and furious inside me.She’s curled under the blanket like she expects someone to rip it away from her.Like warmth is a trap.Like softness is a lie.
My dire wolf pushes against my skin, restless and pacing.Every instinct I have screams at me to climb into that bed and wrap myself around her until the shaking stops.To touch her.To comfort her.To shield her.
But touching her now would break her.And breaking her is the one thing I will never allow myself to do.
I clear my throat quietly.“If you want, I can wait outside.”
Her eyes open a sliver.Gold ringed with brown, shadowed with exhaustion.They flicker over my face, my posture, and the distance between us.She studies me like she’s trying to predict which part of me will hurt her first.
Then, surprising me, she whispers, “Stay.”
My chest tightens.Just one word, trembling and hesitant but it roots me to the floor more solidly than any command from an Alpha ever could.
“All right,” I say softly.“I’ll stay.”
I stay seated.Stay still.Stay contained.My fucking dire wolf doesn’t.He pushes at my ribs like he wants to crawl out and curl at her feet.
Mate.Protect mate.
I grit my teeth and force him down.I can’t protect her if she’s terrified of me.
