JASMINE'S POV
The table felt too quiet.
Not silent, there was the faint crackle of fire somewhere beyond the walls, the gentle clink of cutlery from a distant hall.
But between us, everything felt suspended, as though the room itself was holding its breath.
I pushed a piece of bread around my plate, appetite fading again.
"Aiden," I said softly, breaking the stillness. "You said someone locked my wolf."
He looked up immediately.
"Yes."
My fingers curled against the edge of the table. "Who?"
He didn't answer at once.
Instead, he studied me, his gaze drifting briefly to my stomach, then back to my face. I realized then that he was weighing how much I could take. How much truth my heart could withstand in one sitting.
"I need to know," I said firmly. "I can't keep walking around with half answers. I've lived my entire life in the dark."
His jaw tightened.
