Ainsley ignored Lucian and said to Kevin, “Kevin, walk him outside.”
Lucian was pale. He looked down at the ground and stepped out under Kevin's gaze, his footsteps heavy as if he were dragging the weight of his shattered pride. Kevin’s eyes lingered on Lucian, unreadable yet stern, silently commanding obedience. Lucian’s lips parted, a retort dying before it could form. What was the point? He has already been dismissed.
Just as Lucian was about to disappear from Ainsley's sight, Ainsley, who was on the stairs behind him, spoke, his tone laced with finality. “Lucian, there’s something you don’t understand. It’s because she’s my mate, not yours, that you and I chose differently. You could never understand the bond, the pull, what it means to protect her, to claim her.”
Lucian turned slig
