Chapter 198

Caesar's POV My wolf erupted with barely contained fury as I closed the study door behind Helena, the heavy click of the lock echoing like a gunshot in my chest. If William hadn't been her brother, if he hadn't been one of the few people alive who knew the truth behind my carefully crafted façade, Helena would have been banished from our territory years ago. The image of Sylvia standing alone upstairs burned through my mind—her back straight, her chin lifted in quiet pride even as uncertainty crept into her eyes. She trusted me. And for the first time since I claimed her as my mate, I wasn't sure whether I was protecting that trust—or slowly choking the life out of it in the name of love. Something savage twisted around my heart, tight and merciless. I would rather face a thousand enemies than watch that quiet recalibration settle into her gaze—the moment when someone realizes the ground beneath them has shifted, and nothing will ever feel solid again. Dylan's latest intelligence repor