"I'm nothing like him," he said quietly.
"No, you're not." Vessa's hand touched his shoulder gently. "You're what he could have been if he'd dealt with his trauma instead of running from it. You feel deeply and you don't apologize for it. You're quiet but it's not weakness, it's strength. You observe and you understand and you use that to protect the people you love." She paused. "You're a better man than Aldric ever was, Silas. A better Alpha. A better mate. A better person."
Silas turned to look at her, and was surprised to find tears in her eyes.
"Your mother would be so proud of you," Vessa said, her voice thick with emotion. "All three of you. You took everything Aldric was, the strength, the intelligence, the power and you tempered it with things he never had. Compassion. Emotional awareness. The willingness to be vulnerable with the people who matter." She smiled through her tears. "You're everything she hoped you'd be."
