Alpha Rolan's POV

Griffin rode beside me in silence, his usual confidence tempered with something more cautious today. I knew he wanted to speak but was holding himself back, as he often did.

His loyalty to me was unquestionable, but sometimes that loyalty made him overstep his boundaries. And I could see the way he was holding onto something now, something he thought I knew that he badly needed me to hear.

The trees grew thicker as we neared the site, the shadows long and twisted on the ground. I kept my gaze forward, letting the familiar rhythm of the ride settle my mind.

But it wasn’t enough. The tension...