I looked up and caught Elliot's gaze for a brief second before instinctively lowering my head again. His presence was too steady, too overwhelming—like standing too close to an Alpha whose bond-marked attention I still didn't fully understand. The kinder he was to Jared, the harder it became for me to maintain distance. My instincts didn't know how to reject someone who treated my pup like pack.
After dinner, I poured him a glass of water, using the moment to steady myself. "Thank you for hiring the lawyer," I said quietly. The kidnapping case had moved forward because of his intervention, and I couldn't ignore that.
Elliot's expression hardened slightly, his Alpha energy sharpening. "The police are collecting evidence. Once they can convict them, I won't show mercy." There was a cold edge in his tone—protective, but absolute, like justice delivered through pack authority.
