The fury that surged through me then was so sudden, so complete, that for a second it blotted out everything else.
There are moments when anger feels hot and wild, easy to recognize because it burns so openly. This was not like that.
This anger came cold. It moved through me with the clean force of something long denied and finally given language.
Every humiliation, every decision made over my head, every man who had mistaken fear for wisdom and control for care seemed to gather into one single, violent refusal.
"You don't get to touch my future," I said.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly, but he still did not step back.
"You think that future is yours alone."
"Yes," I said. "That is exactly what I think."
His fingers closed around my wrist again.
This time there was no pretense of calm in the gesture. It was not violent, but it was possessive in a way that made my wolf recoil and snarl beneath my skin.
