Inside, the cave opened up into something Laura hadn't expected—a spacious chamber with furs spread across the stone floor and lanterns casting warm golden light that danced across the rough walls, and it was simpler than she'd imagined an Alpha's quarters would be, but there was something honest about it, something that felt like Dante in a way the elaborate pack house never had.

Dante turned to face her, and the intensity in his eyes made her breath catch even as she saw the question there, the uncertainty that looked strange on someone so powerful.

"We can stop," he said, and she could hear what the offer cost him, could...