Luna blinked, stunned by the sudden shift.
Vaelen, who always spoke in that calm, cool, emotionless tone—like nothing in the world could move him—was suddenly lashing out.
His voice, though still measured, carried a sharp edge now, cutting straight through the air between them.
"You're an Alpha," he said, voice steely. "What good are you if you're going to back away and tuck your tail when people beneath you so much as breathe in your direction?"
She froze. Wasn't he just repeating the same thing?
"Alphas aren't supposed to look pathetic," he added, golden eyes locked onto hers with unwavering intensity. "If you show them weakness, even once, they'll never take you seriously. They'll think they can test you—overpower you."
Luna just stared at him, wide-eyed. It wasn't even the words that made her recoil—it was the way he said them. Cold. Dismissive. Harsh.
Like she was something beneath him.
And all of a sudden, too.
'What the hell just happened?'
