For a split second, the polite mask dropped.
He was looking at the twins with cold, flat irritation and barely concealed disdain. His jaw was tight. His eyes were hard. There was no warmth in his expression, no amusement at the cute children causing chaos.
Then he saw me watching him.
The warm smile snapped back into place instantly, so fast it was almost jarring. He gave me a little nod, a friendly acknowledgment, as if nothing had happened.
But I had seen it. That flash of something ugly beneath the polished surface.
I left the room with a knot in my stomach.
Knox was still carrying Rowan, Thea dancing around his legs as we walked down the hallway. Hunt fell into step beside me, his phone finally put away.
“You okay?” he asked quietly. “You look tense.”
I glanced back toward the conference room, making sure we were out of earshot.
“Lucio is hiding something,” I said.
Hunt raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know exactly. Just... the way he looks at things. The way his eyes track papers he shouldn’t be reading. The way his fingers twitch when someone mentions patrol routes.” I shook my head. “And just now, when the twins came in. He looked at them with... nothing. Cold. Annoyed. And then he saw me watching and put his friendly face back on.”
Hunt was quiet for a moment, considering my words.
“Lina, you’ve been through a lot. You’re stressed. It’s natural to be suspicious of everyone right now.”
“I’m not paranoid.”
“I didn’t say you were.” He held up a hand. “Look, I get it. Trust your instincts. But we already checked his background. Thoroughly. He transferred from Shadowcrest Pack with a clean record. Jackson Bennett himself vouched for him.”
Jackson Bennett. Mira’s father. The alpha who had disgraced and disinherited her.
That didn’t make me feel better.
“Just... keep an eye on him,” I said. “Please. For me.”
Hunt studied my face for a long moment. Then he nodded.
“Okay. I’ll watch him. But don’t get too worked up about this, alright? We have enough to worry about without adding paranoia to the mix.”
I didn’t argue with him. There was no point. He thought I was stressed and jumping at shadows. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was seeing threats where there were none.
But I didn’t think so.
I trusted my gut. And my gut was screaming that Lucio was not what he seemed.
25
— • —
Knox
“Dude, don’t make the same mistakes.”
Noah’s voice cut through my thoughts as I stood up from the couch, my eyes tracking Lina as she walked toward the stairs toward the bathroom. Inside our house. In our territory. Surrounded by guards.
I sat back down.
