ROMAN'S JEALOUSY, ROUND TWO

CHAPTER 38

"What exactly did he say to you when you were alone? Without me there?"

Roman's voice was tight, controlled in the way that meant staying calm was costing him everything.

I realized then that his jealousy wasn't entirely about distrusting me. It was about the fear of losing something he'd only just allowed himself to want.

"I told you in the hall."

"You told me the outline."

"Because you went quiet and changed the subject."

"I'm asking for his exact words."

"Why?"

"Because he waited until I wasn't there."

"He waited until I was alone, Roman. I didn't send him an invitation."

"You went out to the terrace."

"I went out for air. He was already there."

"And you stayed."

"For two minutes."

"Long enough."

I stared at him.

"Long enough for what?"

His jaw flexed, but he didn't answer.

"Say it."

"I'm not accusing you."

"You sound like you are."

"I'm trying to understand what he wanted."

"I told you. He asked about my family. He warned me that other people might come looking, and they wouldn't be polite. He offered me somewhere else to go if I needed it."

"Somewhere else."

"A door. No contracts. No demands."

"And you refused?"

"I said I didn't need his help."

"That's not the same as refusing."

"Roman."

"I'm only asking"

"No. You're interrogating me."

He stopped. His mouth tightened.

"He's dangerous, Mira."

"Maybe."

"There is no maybe. He's an Alpha with an army and an agenda. He remembered the exact seat you chose in the library."

"That's a compliment, not a threat."

"Coming from him, it could be both."

"You don't know that."

"I know him."

"Then tell me what you know."

Silence.

I let it stretch between us.

His eyes dropped for half a second, and something clicked into place.

"You're not telling me something."

"This isn't about me."

"It's about him. And you just looked at the floor."

"I'm not ready to talk about it."

"But you're ready to question every word I say?"

"That's different."

"How?"

"Because you're in danger."

"And you won't tell me why."

"Because I don't have proof."

I stared at him.

"That's the same answer you gave me about the scent. You said you'd tell me when you had proof."

"I will."

"Then give me the same patience you're asking me to give you."

"That isn't the same."

"It's exactly the same." My voice shook. "You want every detail, and I'm supposed to trust that you're protecting me while you keep things from me. Why does trust only work in one direction?"

"Because I'm responsible for"

"For me?"

"For this pack. For you."

"I'm not a responsibility, Roman. I'm a person."

I drew a breath, trying to steady myself.

"I can handle a conversation. I can handle Kase. I don't need you standing in front of me, answering every question on my behalf."

"I wasn't doing that."

"You told him I was under your protection. In front of me. In front of him."

"You are."

"I'm not your property."

"I never said you were."

"You didn't have to. That's how you acted."

His whole body flinched.

For a moment, I thought he'd snap back. His lips parted, and I saw the sharp response forming.

Then he closed his mouth.

"Say something," I demanded, more quietly this time.

"I almost said something unfair."

"Then say the fair thing."

He looked at me for a long moment.

"Mira, is there anything he said that made you want to leave Blackthorn?"

"No."

"Did you consider it?"

"No." I held his gaze. "That's the part you haven't asked about. You want to know what he said, what he offered, and what he might be planning. You haven't asked how I felt."

His expression shifted.

"What did you feel?"

"Afraid."

He went still.

"Not of Kase. Of what he knew."

For the first time since the argument began, Roman didn't immediately respond.

"If you trust me," I continued, "why do I have to keep proving that I won't leave you?"

The question settled between us.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"Try."

"I can't."

"You can."

His shoulders sagged slightly. For the first time, he looked less like an Alpha defending his territory and more like a man who had run out of ways to hide his fear.

"I'm not afraid you'll leave," he said slowly. "I'm afraid someone will take you."

My anger faltered, though it didn't disappear.

"Someone might come for you. Someone might decide you're too dangerous to leave alone, or too valuable to let go. And I'll be standing there again, watching something happen that I can't stop."

His voice cracked.

"I keep seeing that doorway. I keep seeing myself arriving too late."

I knew which doorway he meant.

Lyra's.

"And then Kase walks in," Roman continued, "offering you somewhere else to go. He can make promises I can't. He can offer you another pack, another home, a different future. All I can offer you is a house surrounded by threats and a man who doesn't know how to stop being afraid of losing you."

"That's what this is about."

"Yes."

"Not Kase."

"No." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I've handled threats my entire life. I know how to fight an enemy. I know how to defend a territory. I don't know how to handle wanting something I could lose."

My anger softened, but it didn't vanish.

"I understand that," I said. "I really do."

He looked at me, waiting.

"But your fear can't become my cage."

His eyes closed.

"I can't promise nothing bad will happen to us," I continued. "I can't guarantee that you'll never lose me. Neither of us knows what the future holds. But I can promise that I'll choose honestly, every day. And right now, I'm choosing you."

I stepped closer.

"Not because you've blocked every door. Not because you've decided what's best for me. Because I want to be here."

His expression tightened.

"That's more than I deserve."

"It's not about what you deserve. It's about whether you can let me choose."

"I'm trying."

"I know. But trying doesn't mean I have to stay quiet when you hurt me."

He looked down.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he lifted his gaze.

"I was unfair," he said. "I treated your conversation with Kase like a crime, and I made you defend yourself when you hadn't done anything wrong."

I hadn't expected the admission to come so directly.

"I'm sorry, Mira."

"Thank you."

"That doesn't fix it."

"No."

"But it's the truth."

I nodded.

"It matters."

I glanced toward the windows. The afternoon light had begun to fade, leaving the corridor colder than before.

"There is something else," I admitted.

His attention sharpened.

"What?"

"I wasn't completely honest with you in the hall."

He went still.

"What did you leave out?"

"Kase asked me directly whether I'd heard the word Moonborn before."

Roman's expression changed.

"I told him I didn't know what he meant. But he looked at me and said I held my teacup very still. That people do that when they're afraid of dropping something."

His face went rigid.

"He was watching you that closely?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Because you were already angry." My throat tightened. "I could see what was happening. You were asking questions, making decisions, and preparing to take control of everything. I thought if I told you, you'd lock the doors, double the guards, and give me no chance to explain myself."

He took a slow breath.

"I would have," he admitted quietly.

"I know."

His hands clenched at his sides.

"That's my fault."

"Part of it."

"And the rest?"

I wiped my face with the heel of my hand.

"The rest is mine. I should have told you the truth instead of deciding how you'd react."

He studied me.

"I'm asking you to trust me," I said, "and I held something back because I was afraid of you."

The words hurt more than I expected them to.

"They aren't the same," he said.

"No. They're not equal. But they're not nothing, either."

He looked away.

"No," he said at last. "They aren't."

We stood in silence. Beyond the windows, the wind stirred the trees around the estate.

"I don't know how to fix this tonight," I admitted.

"Neither do I."

"I'm tired."

"So am I."

"I need to sleep before I say something I'll regret."

He nodded.

"Then sleep. I won't stop you."

I turned toward the door.

My hand had just reached the frame when his fingers brushed mine.

Lightly.

Not a grip. Not an attempt to keep me there.

An offer I could refuse.

"Mira."

I looked back.

"Don't hide things from me because you're afraid of my reaction," he said. His voice was low but steady. "Give me the chance to prove I can handle the truth."

I wanted to believe him.

I could hear the sincerity in his voice, just as clearly as I could hear my own heartbeat.

But sincerity wasn't the same as change.

And promises made in a quiet corridor were easier than the choices that would follow them.

"Okay," I said. "Show me."

His thumb brushed my knuckles once before his hand fell away.

I left him standing there.

I didn't look back because I wasn't sure what I would find in his expression if I did.

And I wasn't sure which frightened me more: the possibility that Roman would never learn to trust me with the truth, or the possibility that I would keep loving him while waiting for him to try.