DEAN

Callum was right.

I did feel something for Lilith.

I confirmed it the moment I saw her again yesterday.

But this feeling…

It wasn’t just attraction—or even love.

It was something stronger, more binding, and far deeper than anything I’d ever known.

Like how her figure popped into my head the instant Callum asked if I was attending the banquet. Or how I couldn’t look away from her the second she stepped into the ballroom.

Or how my chest physically ached when I saw her being isolated and about to be dragged away.

For reasons I couldn’t explain, I found myself wanting to protect her. Tease her. Make her...