I felt the room's temperature plummet the instant Lyra's name left my lips. Damien's face transformed before my eyes, his casual arrogance giving way to something primitive and dangerous. His eyes darkened to almost black, muscles coiling as he stalked toward me.
"You do not speak her name," he growled, voice barely human. "Ever."
I stood my ground even as every instinct screamed at me to retreat. This wasn't just anger—this was feral rage born of something deeper than I could comprehend. In that moment, I knew I was looking at a man capable of killing without hesitation.
What happened next shocked me to my core.
Seraphina stepped between us, her small frame creating a barrier between two Alphas on the verge of violence.
"Stop it," she commanded, her voice steady despite the slight tremor in her hands. "Both of you."
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My Luna—who supposedly hated me, who claimed to have no memory of our life together—was protecting me.
