Rhydric shot him a glare.
Theo held up both hands. "I'm just saying…you're acting like you were chosen as a sacrificial goat."
Rhydric looked away again, shoulders tight, throat working.
Rhydric drew in a tight breath, rubbing his face with both hands before speaking again. "Theo… think about it," he muttered, voice low and strained. "Why would the Apex Alpha want a twenty-one-year-old guy to be his right-hand man? He can get someone stronger. Older. More experienced. Someone better."
Theodore's smile faded.His brows pulled together.
"…You're right," Theo said slowly. "That doesn't make sense. At all."
Rhydric swallowed, eyes fixed on the floor.
"And another thing," Theodore continued, voice dropping. "Why would the Apex Alpha show up in your bedroom… when he could just summon you?"
Rhydric let out a humorless breath, almost a laugh but not quite.
"He did summon me."
Theo blinked.
