Carlo shared a warning look with Xavier before slowly stepping back. His eyes sharp, unreadable and brimming with restrained emotion lingered a heartbeat too long.
It wasn't a retreat.
It was a promise.
This isn't over.
"As the Alpha says," he murmured at last, voice low and taut with respect. With a slight bow of his head, Carlo melted back into the crowd, his exit quiet, calculated, and far from defeated.
Xavier didn't spare him a glance. His crimson gaze returned to Lyra, and just like that, the mask snapped back into place, stoic and unreadable like a second skin that fit him too well.
"I apologize for the interruption," he said, his voice clipped yet composed. For the briefest of moments, something flickered behind his eyes regret, maybe but it vanished before it could settle.
Lyra opened her mouth, unsure what she would even say, but another voice sliced through the tension like a blade:
"That's enough."
All heads turned.
