Chapter 69

Liam

It was like chasing a ghost. And the harder I tried, the harder it was for me to reach her.

Every time I reached for her, she slipped further away. Whenever I tried to speak to her, she just looked away.

“Alaria,” I called, my voice cutting through the hall. She didn’t even slow. Her spine stayed straight, chin high, the sound of her footsteps snapping against the floor like a refusal carved into stone. “For crying out loud, you can't keep avoiding me forever.”

I caught her wrist once, just once. She froze, her body stiffening like my touch burned her. And when she finally turned to me, her eyes weren’t soft or conflicted like they’d been the night before, they were steel.

“Don’t.” One word. Low. Final. Then she pulled free and left me standing there with my hand empty.

It shouldn’t have hurt this much. It shouldn't be as difficult for me to be able to just speak to her. And get it was.

I was Alpha. I commanded warriors