"No." Aleksasha stood her ground, voice rising. "He stopped when I called him. He came back. That is Matias."
The silence between them stretched, taut as a bowstring.
Selene studied her, searching for weakness. But Aleksasha didn't waver.
And slowly, Selene's expression changed. A flicker of something colder than fear crossed her face.
"If you're right…" she said quietly, "then you are more dangerous than I thought."
Aleksasha didn't smile. She didn't need to.
She simply stepped back beside the beast, her fingers brushing once more against silver fur.
"You should go, Selene," she said. "Before you learn just how dangerous I can be."
Selene regarded her for a long, weighted moment, then took a single step back. Moonlight caught the sharp angles of her face, but her expression was unreadable—something balanced between warning and disdain.
