“Because I don’t deserve help. Percy took that dart because of me.”
“Percy took that dart because he chose to.”
“Because I put him in a position where he had to choose.”
His grip on the desk tightened. A muscle in his jaw jumped. The patience was fraying, thread by thread, and I watched it happen in the way his shoulders climbed toward his ears and his breathing went deliberate.
“Then what the hell were you thinking?”
The question landed between us. His voice had shifted, raw with frustration. The sound of a man who’d spent the last six hours caging fear.
I turned to face him.
Lucian pushed off the desk. His eyes burned into mine, storm gray lit with gold at the edges, and his jaw was set.
“You think I don’t realize what you did?” He stepped closer. “You were planning this all along. That’s why you were so insistent on going to the dance.” Another step. “That’s why you trained so hard. That’s why you took the dagger. You fooled me and I trusted you.”
My guilt twisted into anger so fast I tasted metal.
“You used yourself asbait,Mira.”
“I’m tired of doing nothing!” The words ripped out of me. “I’m tired of hiding in this cabin and waiting for him to find me. I’m tired of letting three men rearrange their entire lives to babysit me because I’m too weak to handle my own problems!”
“You’re not weak.”
“Then stop treating me that way!” I spun on him. “Stop having rotations to guard me and stop wrapping me in bubble wrap. You’re wasting your time because he always finds me. And this time I wanted to be ready.”
“You should have told me.” Each word was a controlled detonation. “You should have trusted me enough to tell me, and not set a trap that risked you. Why would you do that without telling any of us?”
“Because you would have stopped me!”
“You’re damn right I would have stopped you!” He was close now and I could see the vein pulsing in his neck, the tremor in his jaw. “What if it wasn’t just Percy? What if that dart hit you instead? What if you were the one who bled in that forest?”
“Then I’d be bleeding. I’ve bled before.”
“Percy is a lycan, Mira. His body heals.” He stepped closer. His voice dropped, and the rawness in it scraped against my ribs. “You’re human. You don’t heal or regenerate. Stop being stubborn about asking for help.”
“I know what I am, Lucian.”
“Do you? Because you walked into those woods carrying a dagger as if that makes you invincible. One wrong step, one second slower. That dart could’ve been a bullet aimed at you and we wouldn’t be having this argument because you would be gone.”
“Then at least it would have been my choice!” The words tore out louder than I intended. “I’m done letting other people decide for me. Whether it’s for my safety or not. I’ve spent two years letting a man control my life. I am done!”
“We’re not him. This isn’t just about Hudson. This is bigger than that fucking bastard.”
“I know it’s bigger than Hudson! That’s exactly why I can’t just sit here!” I shoved his chest. Both palms, full force, and he barely moved. “I’m used to it, Lucian. Pain, fear, bruises, broken things. I don’t need three supernatural bodyguards deciding which dangers I’m allowed to face. I need to fight my own battles.”
“Not battles that can kill you!”
“Every battle I’ve ever fought could have killed me!” My voice hit a pitch I didn’t recognize. “Every time Hudson locked a door or raised his fist or showed up in a city I’d run to, that could have killed me. And I survived it alone. Without anyone.”
“You’re not alone anymore!”
“Then trust me enough to let me stand on my own!”
“That is not your decision to make!”
“It is my decision! It’s my life, Lucian!”
