ALEXANDER
Roman answered without hesitation.
“I went out of the gate,” he said. “For a run.”
For a moment, I just stared at him.
Not because the answer surprised me, but because of how casually he said it, like it explained everything that needed explaining.
It didn’t.
My jaw tightened slightly before I spoke.
“A run,” I repeated, slower this time.
Roman nodded once.
That was when the irritation I had been holding back finally found a way out.
“You went out of the gate,” I said, my voice sharper now, “without informing anyone. Without clearance. Without even the basic awareness that you don’t just walk beyond the perimeter alone in a place you don’t fully know.”
His expression shifted slightly, like he was registering the tone but choosing not to react to it immediately.
I con
