Rekindled Sparks

Luca exhales heavily and breathes in the suffocating air of Zane’s room. It smells faintly of clean laundry and Zane's subtle cologne. Luca’s lips twitch, the scent only fueling the churning rage inside Luca. He stands over the bed, his imposing figure casting a long, dark shadow over the sleeping woman.

For a moment, the storm raging inside him comes to a complete still. He sees the faint purple smudges beneath Stella's closed eyes. Noticed the way her grip on the comforter tightens even in sleep.

And the slight tremor in her hands as she rests them on her chest. In sleep, she isn’t defiant. She’s just utterly spent. This isn’t a deliberate move to spite him. It’s the reaction of a woman who’s broken down.

The rage doesn’t disappear just yet. it simply crystallizes within the pits of his cold heart. It isn’t the blind fury of a betrayed lover. But the cold, disappointment of a man whose protégé, his one weakness, has chosen the wolf's den over the supposed safety of his side.