MIRA
I realized I was smiling at Kai and stopped immediately.
Couldn't be doing that. Couldn't be softening toward him like this.
He was still Sloane's Beta. Still part of the system that protected Alphas like her. Still someone I should keep at arm's length.
But he'd been genuinely helpful over the past weeks. Kept Sloane in check as much as anyone could. Protected Bryce when he was able to. Given me information I needed to keep my brother safe.
And his story about his mom—there was real pain there. Real regret. Real understanding of why I was so terrified of letting Bryce get close to an Alpha who'd already shown she could be cruel.
He got it in a way most people didn't. He'd watched his mother suffer the same way I'd watched mine suffer under my father's neglect and eventual abandonment. He'd experienced the helplessness I'd felt.
Maybe he wasn't who I'd thought he was.
