Penny stood in quiet stillness, her fingers curled at her sides as she listened to Darius's words. Her gaze lingered on him, watching the subtle rise and fall of his chest as he released a heavy sigh.
"If it wasn't for Selene..." he murmured, his voice low and thick with guilt, "maybe things would've ended fatally for the Alpha."
His words hung in the air like a quiet confession, laced with the kind of regret that cut deeper than any wound.
Penny's heart ached at the sound of it.
"Not just the Alpha," she whispered, barely above a breath. "But also you."
Darius turned sharply, his eyes snapping to hers—startled by the depth in her voice.
Their gazes locked. The air between them shifted, heavier now, charged with something raw and unnamed. In her voice, he didn't just hear concern. He felt it. The kind that reached beyond duty… beyond command. It was personal.
She hadn't meant to say it like that. And the moment she realized what she'd let slip, her composure faltered.
