REED POV :
I should've stopped the fight.
I should've walked away.
I should've protected her.
But all I did was brawl like a fucking pup over territory I hadn't even earned.
Every mistake plays over in my head like a looped curse — the way I let Blaze get under my skin, the way I let my claws speak louder than my instincts. The way I forgot her, just for a second, while I bared my teeth at another monster.
A second was all it took.
She slipped right through us, like smoke, like light, like she was never meant to stay.
And it's my fault.
I press my palm against the wall and slam my forehead into it once, hard enough to sting. My wolf growls in protest, but he doesn't stop me. He knows. He's angry too — but not at her. Never at her.
At me.
For failing her.
For letting my temper matter more than her safety.
