Ram sagged with relief, forcing a nervous laugh as he bowed, his aura shifting from panic to uneasy calm. But I couldn’t look away from Alpha Alaric as he rose and crossed the room toward me.
Each step was deliberate, commanding, the Alpha in every movement. He plucked a shawl from a chair and draped it over my shoulders. His fingers brushed my skin, sending a shiver down my spine, but there was no warmth in his touch, only a yawning distance that left my wolf restless.
He raised his hands in the signs he had once patiently taught me, soft and protective.
“Why would you wander out in such cold, wearing so little? You’ll catch a cold.”
Once, that effort would have melted me. I remembered the long nights when he sat with his tutor, determined to master every sign despite the grueling demands of leading our pack. His brow furrowed, his jaw clenched, and still he persevered. Back then, I believed it was love. I thought he wanted to bridge the silence that had caged me, to pull me into a world where I was not always left behind.