"We're not splitting up," I added. "Not here."
Aaron's jaw tensed. “We go in as a team. We go out as a team. **No heroes. No sacrifices.**”
Lyra exhaled in frustration. “You don’t get it! If we step forward without breaking the binding first, it will trigger a warning—”
“Then break it with us next to you,” Hunter growled. He took a **step closer to her**, his presence **towering**, his wolf barely restrained. “I’m not leaving your side.”
Something flickered in her eyes.
And then, to my shock, she **softened**.
Her gaze searched his face, her fingers curling slightly as if resisting the urge to reach for him.
I had never seen Hunter like this.
Fierce? Yes. Protective? Always.
But this? This was **different**.
He looked at Lyra like she was the **only thing teth
