🦋ALTHEA
I saw it register on his face the moment he realized what he'd said. I watched his expression shift from earnest to frustrated to something that looked almost like regret.
"Althea—"
"It's fine." I smoothed down the tunic, my movements mechanical. "You're right. I don't make good decisions."
"That's not what I meant."
"Isn't it?" I still didn't look at him. "You're protecting me from my own terrible judgment. My reckless choices. My inability to know what's good for me."
"You ran into the Red Mist," he said, his voice rising. "You almost died. You could have told me they had Vargans there."
"Yes." I nodded once. "But I didn't."
The calm agreement seemed to unsettle him more than any argument could have.
"You don't even care," he said, and there was something raw in his voice now. "You don't value your own life."
"No," I said simply. "I don't."
The honesty of it hung in the air between us.
"But that's not your problem to fix, is it, Alpha?"
