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"Lock the estate down,” he ordered. Without another word, Luca disappeared, barking orders into his radio before he reached the hallway. Maria quietly ushered the kitchen staff from the room and within seconds, only Soren and Lily remained.

She stood slowly. "Soren⁠—”

He looked at her. "Go upstairs."

Her brows knit together. "Why?"

"Pack your things,” he growled.

Her face paled. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

He crossed the room until only a few feet separated them; his eyes held hers, but he was careful not to touch her. He couldn’t risk any distractions right now.

"They've already breached my security,” he said.

She swallowed. "I don't understand."

"You don't have to.” His voice remained steady, but every word carried absolute conviction. "You're moving into my suite."

She blinked up at him. "What?"

"The guest wing is no longer secure,” he said. This wasn’t the way that he wanted to ask her to move into his room with him. He wanted to give Lily the choice of sleeping with him every night, but there was no room for choices right now.

"I can't just—" she started, and he raised his finger and put it on her lips, stopping her from saying anything else.

"You can." His tone left no room for argument. "For the foreseeable future, I need to know exactly where you are—even when you are in the house."

Fear flickered in her eyes, but this time it wasn't fear of him. It was fear of the unseen enemy who somehow knew where she slept. Soren made a silent vow. Someone had dared to invade his home. Someone had watched Lily while she slept, and that mistake would cost them everything.

Chapter Eleven

Lily

She couldn't breathe—not because Soren had raised his voice; he hadn't. And not because he'd looked angry since he almost always looked serious. She couldn't breathe because she'd never seen him afraid before. Soren Kane didn't panic; he didn't hesitate or second-guess himself. Yet the instant he'd looked at whatever was on his phone, something had changed. His eyes had gone cold. Not the calm, controlled kind of cold she'd grown used to over the past few days. This was different. This was the look of a man preparing for war, and somehow, she was at the center of it.

Lily folded another sweater into the overnight bag Maria had found in one of the closets. "You don't have to pack everything," Maria said gently. “I can move the rest of your stuff to Soren’s room later.”

"I know, but I don’t want to make you do that. I’m capable of packing my things. I mean, I don’t have much,” Lily said. “It just feels weird to be packing up this room. It’s like I’m leaving.”

"You’re not leaving, dear. You'll still be here,” Maria said.

"I know."

Maria watched her for a moment. "But⁠—"

Lily stopped folding her sweatshirt. "It feels like I'm making myself at home here, and I don’t want to allow myself to feel too comfortable. I don’t want to be Soren’s obligation to protect. I want to be here because he wants me here. But I feel as though he thinks of me as just a guest, still.”

Maria smiled softly. "Sweetheart—” She sat beside her on the bed. "This stopped being a guest situation the moment someone decided to hunt you. Soren cares about you. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

Lily looked down at the sweater in her lap. "I hate this. I hate depending on people."

"I know you do, honey, but sometimes, it’s okay to depend on other people,” Maria assured.

"I've worked so hard to take care of myself,” she whispered.

Maria reached over and squeezed her hand. "Sometimes letting someone help takes more courage than doing everything alone."

Lily wanted to believe that—she really did. But every time she'd depended on someone before, they'd used it against her.