Rowan froze.
For a long, thudding heartbeat, his thoughts tangled into a chaotic snarl of instinct and memory. Normally, nothing Audrey said could ever unsettle him. She was a storm contained in human form—sharp words, colder eyes—always ready to bare her fangs at him, always prepared to challenge him.
But this time… this time, something in her gaze had pierced deeper than usual. Something he couldn't ignore.
The raw truth she had tried so desperately to bury had flashed across her eyes for a fraction of a second—too fast for a human to catch, but not for a wolf.
Now doubt, unwanted and stubborn, gnawed at his ribs, tightening like a vice.
Lisa's voice broke the silence, trembling and soaked in wounded innocence. "It was me who saved you, Rowan. You saw it yourself. Don't you trust me?"
