Third Person's POV Silas strode forward, his presence sharp as a blade slicing through the restaurant's polished calm. The wolves trailing behind him faltered, uncertain, then followed quickly, unwilling to be left behind. "Well, isn't this a coincidence?" Silas's voice carried across the table, cold and mocking. His gaze pinned Freya like a hawk spotting prey. "You spent last night with me on my birthday, and tonight you're dining with someone else?" Kade rose at once, stepping between them, shoulders broad, blocking Silas's advance. "Silas, she can be with whoever she wants. That's not for you to decide." "No right?" Silas's eyes narrowed, his irises flashing with a dangerous gleam that betrayed his wolf simmering beneath the surface. "You two have already broken up," Kade shot back, his voice taut with restrained fury. Silas's lips curled into something close to a snarl as his gaze slid past Kade and landed directly on Freya. "Broken up? I never agreed to that." Behind him, the wolves who had followed stiffened. Their expressions shifted uneasily. His words weren't something they should be hearing-not from the Alpha of the Ironclad Coalition. There had been rumors, of course-gossip from Ashbourne and whispers carried by couriers-that Silas Whitmor had taken a lover. But few in the Capital truly believed it. After all, Silas was infamous for his coldness, for keeping women and weakness at arm's length. Kade's jaw tightened. "Whether you agreed or not doesn't matter. Freya wants it ended. That means it's ended." The tension rippled through the room, thick as smoke. The wolves at Silas's back shifted uneasily. Sweat beaded on some foreheads. Silas Whitmor was dangerous on his own. But Kade Blackridge-the infamous young wolf of the Capital, known for his rebellious streak and iron fists-was no less formidable. And now the two stood nose to nose. Worse still, Silas's supposed mate, the woman at the center of this storm, was the very one Kade openly called his "sister." But Kade was an only son. Where had this sister come from? Silas's laughter came sharp, humorless. "So what's your plan? She leaves me, and then she runs into your arms?" His words dripped contempt. "Kade, don't delude yourself." Kade froze. The barb struck deep. His fists clenched at his sides. He had never confessed. Never dared. Time and circumstance had stolen every chance. And now, with Freya finally freed from Silas, he had thought-perhaps-he could wait for the right moment. But Silas had ripped that secret from his chest, exposing it raw. "Silas, don't push this too far!" Kade's fury snapped loose. He swung, his fist aimed straight for Silas's face. But Silas Whitmor was not a wolf to be caught unaware. He met the strike with his own, bone meeting bone in a thunderclap. In an instant, the two wolves collided-violence spilling into the restaurant. No one dared interfere. The staff froze. Other diners shrank back. Everyone knew: to step between these two would be suicide. The clash was brutal. Tables shook. Plates clattered. Their wolves snarled beneath their skin, itching to break free, to tear and rend. And then- "Stop!" Freya surged forward. Her hand struck Kade's arm, knocking his blow off course. In the same motion she spun, placing her back to Kade, her front to Silas. Her palm pressed against Silas's fist, halting him. "This isn't the place for a fight," she said firmly, voice steady despite the storm swirling around her. Silas's gaze burned into hers, shadowed by a dangerous flicker of jealousy. "You'd shield him? When he's the one who struck first?" "He's my friend," Freya replied, unflinching. "Of course I'll protect him. Silas, whatever happens between us, don't drag Kade into it." "Friend," Silas echoed, lips curling into a cold, mocking smile. He leaned down, closing the space until his breath stirred her hair, his voice pitched so only she could hear. "Then he's only a friend. Remember what I told you last night, Freya. Don't forget it." He straightened abruptly, lowering his fist. "If you don't like me fighting, then I won't fight. If you don't want to see me, we'll take some space. But breaking up-" his eyes darkened, his Alpha's vow carrying a weight like chains-"I will never allow it." Turning, he barked to his entourage, "We're leaving." "Yes, Alpha!" They rushed to obey, relief flashing in their eyes as they followed him into the shadows of the hallway.Freya watched his broad back vanish. Her chest tightened, not with longing but with a heavy, weary resolve. He wouldn't accept it. A clean break was impossible. Perhaps, then, only silence and time could wear him down, cooling the fire until nothing remained. "Don't worry, Freya." Kade's voice came rough with suppressed emotion. "If Silas dares use force on you, I'll tear him apart myself." "He won't go that far," she answered quietly. Her gaze hardened. "And even if he tried, I'm not the kind of woman who submits without a fight." Still, the stares from nearby diners burned like fire. Every ear in the restaurant had caught some fragment of their confrontation. Too many eyes, too many whispers. "We should leave," she said. Kade nodded. They slipped out, the cold night air biting sharper than the tension they had left behind. This time, instead of another glittering restaurant, Kade steered her to a roadside stall, where steam rose from skewers and the smell of roasted meat cut through the chill. "It reminds me of when we were in the Iron Fang Recon Unit," Kade said with a half-smile, his tone softer. "On leave days, we'd sneak out for food just like this." Freya chuckled, shoulders loosening for the first time that evening. "I never expected you, a pampered heir, to survive the Iron Fang's training. Let alone enjoy roadside meals." "The truth is," Kade murmured, watching her profile in the glow of the stall's lantern, "I never expected it either." He hadn't expected to survive. He hadn't expected to change. And above all, he hadn't expected to fall for her. But every chance to tell her slipped through his fingers. Every time he was a step too late. One step late… always one step late. And now, with Silas Whitmor still looming like a shadow, he wondered if he had already lost for good. "Don't take his words to heart," Freya said suddenly, her tone gentler now. Kade's eyes flicked to hers. "Which words? That I should stop dreaming about being with you?" His lips quirked, bitter. "What if I do take them to heart? What if I care?" His voice carried a raw honesty, more wolf than man, stripped of every wall he had built around his heart.The night seemed to still around them, heavy with everything unsaid.