The office had gone unnaturally quiet.
Alistair remained near his desk, transformed beyond anything Jadelyn had seen before. Crimson eyes burned beneath dark markings that crawled along his skin, while the tips of his claws pressed into the wood hard enough to leave grooves.
Jadelyn hadn't moved.
"Jades," he said, his voice rougher than before. "I said, go home."
"And I said no." Jadelyn answered.
His eyes flared. "You don't understand."
"Again," she replied calmly. "Make me understand."
Alistair's jaw tightened. He looked away, fighting whatever was twisting beneath his skin.
He swallowed, claws curling into fists. "Every minute you stay, whatever I've spent years suppressing gets louder. I don't know what I'll do if I lose control."
Jadelyn studied him for several seconds. "Then don't lose control."
A bitter laugh escaped him. "That's your solution?"
"For now." She stepped closer.
Alistair immediately backed away. "Don't."
Jadelyn reached for his hand.
