-Vaughn Blackmore:
He doesn't move at first.
Neither do I.
The locker room feels different now—not empty anymore, even though nothing else has changed. The silence is still there, but it's no longer mine. It belongs to him in a way I can't quite explain, like he stepped into it and made it heavier just by existing in it.
Ryland's gaze doesn't shift away. It stays on me, steady and direct, the kind of attention that doesn't wander or hesitate. It's not the same as the others. The other Alphas look at me like they're waiting for something to go wrong. Like they're hoping for it.
His look doesn't feel like hope.
It feels like a measurement.
Like he's already decided I'm something, and now he's just confirming the details.
