My fingers tightened around the edge of the table as a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
“I see…”
My voice sounded distant. Unfamiliar.
“He kept his promise after all.”
Just not to me.
Stephanie’s POV
I woke up to warmth. For a brief, fragile moment, I thought it was a dream.
A familiar weight rested behind me, an arm draped loosely over my waist, pulling me into a body I knew far too well. The scent of cedarwood and musk wrapped around me, steady and unmistakable. Alpha Cain.
My breath caught, but I didn’t move.
I kept my eyes closed, as if pretending long enough might make everything go back to the way it used to be. Back when waking up beside him meant something. Back when his presence felt like safety instead of suffocation.
“Stephanie… Luna…” His voice was low, still thick with sleep as his lips brushed lightly against my shoulder.
My body stiffened despite myself. He didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he did, and simply didn’t care.
“I came back late,” he murmured, his hand sliding slightly over my arm in a slow, absentminded gesture. “You were already asleep.”
I said nothing.