I feel his presence behind me in a matter of seconds.
“They were a weakness,” he says quietly.
I turn to face him fully.
Raw knuckles, blood dried in his fur, splinters embedded beneath his nails like he clawed through the forest itself.
My breath catches. “Andrik...”
“I’m fine,” he says, but his voice is hollow.
“What happened?” I whisper.
His jaw flexes. For a moment, I don’t think he’ll answer.
“He left something.” His voice is barely audible. “At the window. After we?—”
A growl cuts off his sentence.
“Left what, Andrik?” The words come out strangled.
His hands curl into fists, and a muscle ticks at his temple. “A package. Wrapped in purple ribbon.”
Purple.
My chest tightens. Not again. Please, not another piece of Anna.
“What was it?” I whisper, bracing myself. Another piece of her jewelry? A note? Something else he stole from her?
His fangs shoot out, pricking his bottom lip. “A photograph.” He pauses. “Of you.”
I exhale the breath I’ve been holding.
“In your apartment,” his voice is strained. “Touching yourself... with that purple?—
“ He can’t finish.
The world settles slowly. A photograph of me. Not Anna.
Relief floods through me so fast it makes me dizzy. “Oh, thank God!”
He goes completely still.
“Lumi,” his voice is dangerously low. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“I—yes, but,” I shake my head, trying to clear it. “I just meant, I thought he’d taken something else from her. Another piece of?—”
“He took pictures of you.” Each word is bitten off. “Without your knowledge. While you were in your own home. In your most private moments.” His claws lengthen. “And your first reaction is relief?”
Something hot flickers in my chest. “Look, Andrik!” My voice sharpens. “What if you lost me? What if you thought the box that showed up at your cabin was a piece of me? I step closer. “Wouldn't you be relieved if it were just a picture of you?”
His jaw clenches. I watch the war play out across his face.
“That’s different,” he says, but his voice has lost its edge.
“How?” I challenge. “How is it different?”
His shoulders sag slightly. The fight drains out of him. “It’s not.” The admission sounds like it costs him. “I just—” He runs a hand through his hair. “I need you to understand that you matter, Lumi. Not just to me.You matter.”
