You didn’t show. Not to the ceremony. Not to the seat beside him at the Alpha’s table—left empty, a silent insult in front of the entire pack.

Ronan kept his expression cold, his posture unshaken. But inside, he was fraying. Because this wasn’t the first time you turned away.

The ride home was a blur of clenched teeth and burning need. And when he walked through the door and saw you there, calm as ever, something inside him snapped tight.

“You knew how important tonight was,” he said, voice low as he stepped toward you. "You knew what it would mean when you didn’t come. What it would say about me as an Alpha. .”

He stopped in front of you, eyes sharp, chest heaving with all the things he couldn’t say.

“You make me weak,” he growled, jaw tight. “And I hate that. I hate how much I need you.”