I knew he was hiding something the moment I heard my name leave his mouth.
I shouldn't have heard.
I knew that.
But hearing Axel talk about me in that raw, strained voice pulled me closer before my mind could fight.
The door to the strategy room was cracked open. His voice slipped through the gap like a secret begging to be caught.
"She stays under watch," he said.
Not cold.
Not commanding.
Panicked.
Cassian inhaled harshly. "Axel, this is extreme. She hasn't done anything"
"She touched me," Axel said.
My breath caught.
Cassian went quiet.
Axel continued, voice softer, almost hurt. "She touched me and something… reacted. Something I can't control."
Cassian's tone toughened. "That bond again?"
Axel didn't answer.
But I could picture the way he rubbed the back of his neck when he was upset. The way his jaw clenched when he didn't want to speak the truth.
Cassian lowered his voice. "You're afraid of her."
Axel's reply came slow, rough. "I'm afraid of what she means."
My chest tightened.
Afraid of what I meant?
To him?
To the pack?
To his control?
I didn't know.
But the thought tasted bitter.
Cassian asked, "And the restriction order?"
"Full restriction," Axel said. "She doesn't leave the east wing without you."
My heart was hammered. Full restriction. Like I was a threat. Like I was some weapon with no trigger control.
Or a secret he didn't want others to discover.
Cassian stopped. "She will notice."
"I know."
"What if she confronts you?"
Axel's breath stuttered. "Then I will make sure she keeps her distance. One way or another."
I swallowed hard.
The words struck like a punch.
Keep your space.
Destroy you.
Restriction.
Why did the tie scare him so much?
I eased away from the door, but before I could step back fully, the door swung open.
Cassian stood there.
He froze when he saw me. "You were listening."
I lifted my chin. "Yes."
He let out a slow sigh. "Then you heard everything."
"Enough," I said.
His eyes softened in a way that felt almost pitying. "Come with me."
I didn't want to follow him, but staying would have been worse. Axel was still inside. And right now, the thought of seeing his face after hearing those words felt like an open wound.
Cassian walked ahead, his stance stiff, his quiet heavy. When we reached the hallway, he finally spoke.
"You shouldn't have heard that."
"I wasn't meant to hear a lot of things," I said. "Yet here I am."
He looked at me sideways. "He's not angry at you."
"I heard a lot of things that felt like anger."
"No," Cassian said softly. "That was fear."
The words hit me like another blow.
Fear.
Why me?
Why my touch?
Why the link that pulled at both of us like a rope slipping tighter each time?
Cassian gestured for me to follow him down another hallway. "I want to talk with you. Privately."
"About what?"
"Your childhood."
My steps faltered. "Why?"
He didn't answer instantly. He opened the door to his office and nodded for me to step in.
The room had surprisingly neatorganized shelves, letters stacked neatly, and a few old maps hung on the wall. Nothing out of place.
Except a door that was half-open.
Cassian spotted it too. His eyes sharpened. "Wait here."
He crossed the room quickly.
The moment he reached for the drawer, my stomach tensed.
A strange pull tugged at me.
A memory I couldn't place.
A sign I couldn't name.
He opened the door.
Inside were papers. Maps. Reports.
And
My breath stopped.
My old pack logo.
A metal emblem formed like a crescent cut through a sun. I hadn't seen that sign since my pack fell. Since the night my mother died. Since everything went dark.
Cassian froze.
Then he slammed the drawer shut, but the damage was done.
I muttered, "Why do you have that?"
His jaw tightened. "It's not what you think."
"You don't know what I think."
He turned toward me slowly, his eyes no longer soft. "Tell me what that mark was. The one on the rogue."
I stepped back. "No."
He stepped forward. "Tell me, Lola."
A cold edge entered his voice. It wasn't frightening, but it carried a weight that felt too exact.
He knew something.
Something dangerous.
I swallowed. "Why do you care?"
"Because it concerns this pack."
"No," I said. "It concerns me."
He held my stare. "Then explain."
"I can't."
"You won't."
There was a difference. And he knew it.
I crossed my arms, forcing my voice to stay steady. "Why do you have my crest?"
He stared at me for a long, tense moment.
Then he said quietly, "I was told to protect you."
My pulse stumbled. "By who?"
"Your father."
Ice shot through my veins.
"My father never spoke to your pack."
"No," Cassian said. "Not to this pack."
I blinked. "You're lying. My father"
"I knew your father when I was younger," he said. "Before Crescent. Before I became Beta."
Anger flared. "That's impossible."
His expression didn't change. "He told me something once. Something strange. Something I didn't understand then." He took a step closer. "He told me that one day a girl with your eyes would walk into a place she shouldn't, and when she did, I must keep her alive."
My throat tightened painfully.
He stepped even closer. "So tell me, Lola. Why would your father say something like that?"
"I don't know," I said.
It wasn't a lie.
I truly didn't.
Cassian searched my face, and for a second, I saw something break in himfrustration, confusion, maybe guilt.
A knock hit the door.
A messenger stepped in, pale and shaky. "Beta… there's something you need to see."
Cassian frowned. "What?"
The messenger held out a small slip of paper.
Cassian took it and read it.
His face was drained of color.
I stepped closer. "What does it say?"
He handed me the note.
The lettering was sharp, rushed, almost manic.
"Leave before the moon chooses."
My chest tightened.
My fingers shook.
Cassian whispered, "Someone is watching you."
I mumbled back, "Someone has always watched me."
A shadow crossed Cassian's face. "You need protection."
"No," I said. "I need answers."
"You will get them."
"I doubt that."
He breathed slowly. "Lola… this isn't a game. Someone wants you gone, and I don't think it's the rogues."
My voice dropped. "Is it Axel?"
His eyes flickered. "If Axel wanted you gone, you wouldn't be standing in my office."
That didn't comfort me.
Cassian stepped toward me again, softer this time. "Whatever is happening… you need to trust someone."
I shook my head. "I trusted once. I lost everything."
He studied me quietly. "You remind me of your father."
My breath caught.
He smiled weakly. "And that scares me."
Before I could answer, another knock sounded loud, sharp, impatient.
Cassian frowned. "Who"
The door burst open.
Axel walked in.
No doubt.
No apology.
Just stress, sharp and dangerous, sticking to him like a second skin. His eyes flicked from Cassian to me, then locked completely on my face.
And they didn't move.
Not once.
Not even when he spoke.
"Leave us," he said.
The command hit the air with such force that Cassian tensed but moved without arguing. Something passed between them a silent warning, a silent question, but Axel didn't look away from me long enough to acknowledge it.
The door closed.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
Axel took one step closer.
Then another.
His breathing was unsteady, shallow, as if he had run here. His hands were clenched. His eyes were torn between anger and fear.
"Why were you in his office?" he asked.
My back straightened. "Because he asked."
"That's not an answer," Axel said.
"Maybe I don't owe you one."
The air tightened.
He stepped until there was barely a breath between us. "You owe me the truth."
"You avoid the truth every time the bond touches you," I said softly.
He flinched.
"What bond?" he asked.
"You know."
"No," he said too fast. "I don't."
"You felt it."
"I didn't."
"You did," I whispered.
His jaw tightened. "Stop."
"Why?" I asked. "Does it scare you?"
He breathed sharply, chest rising with stress. "Yes."
The honesty hit me harder than a blow.
He swallowed, voice raw. "I don't understand what's happening when you're near me. I don't understand why you smell, why you touch, why you."
My heart stuttered.
He lifted his hand as if to touch me again, but stopped halfway, fingers shaking.
Then his face hardened.
"What did you touch?"
I froze.
"What?"
He stepped closer, eyes blazing. "What did you touch before I found you in training? What did you touch that made the bond respond like that?"
I shook my head. "Nothing"
"Don't lie to me," he growled.
"I'm not lying."
He leaned in, voice low and angry. "Then why did I feel you under my skin?"
Heat shot through me.
Fear.
Want.
Confusion.
All twisted.
I whispered, "Maybe because you're my"
His hand slammed against the wall beside my head.
"Don't say it," he said through tightened teeth. "Don't say what you think I am to you."
"Why not?" I whispered shakily.
His eyes were wild. "Because if you say it… I won't be able to turn back."
A beat passed.
A heavy, painful beat.
Then another question broke out of himrough, desperate.
"What did you touch?"
I swallowed hard.
He wasn't asking out of anger.
He was asking out of fear.
Fear of the tie.
Fear of me.
Fear of what my presence was ripping open inside him.
And then
His eyes shifted.
Silver.
Bright.
Uncontrolled.
He leaned closer, breath harsh against my cheek.
"Lola," he muttered, "what is inside you?"
My heart stopped.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
His voice dropped even lower.
"What did you bring into my pack?"
His next words were a whisper of fear against my skin.
"What are you really, Lola?"