The tension in the room pressed against my skin like a physical weight. He stood motionless, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the floor between us. His wolf was close to the surface. I could sense it in the way the air thickened around him, heavy with dominance and something darker. The faint scent of cedar and iron that always clung to him sharpened, turning aggressive.
My own wolf held perfectly still inside me. She did not cower. She did not bare her throat. She simply stared back through my eyes with ancient, unblinking patience.
"What are you trying to prove?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
