Thessian watched her, gaze locked on her face as if searching for the smallest crack of doubt, any fissure he could reach and widen to pull her back into safety. There was none. Only resolve, cold and unwavering.
Through the bond he felt it echo: not hatred, not rage, just distance more effective than any physical step. She meant it. And that realization hit him harder than any beta's claws ever could. He couldn't force her. Not again. Not after everything the moon had changed between them.
His jaw tightened, the only outward sign of the storm raging inside him. Staying apart wasn't safe for either of them. He could feel the subtle shifts in the air even now: the gathering attention that always followed an alpha of his power, enemies and watchers drawn like moths to flame. Some threats weren't wolves he could tear apart. Some had already chosen her.
His gaze flicked briefly to the window, toward the unseen border of Valeria pulsing somewhere in the haze beyond the city lights.
