Reed POV
"You... you don't have to do that. I'm... I'm a girl. Disguised as a guy," she said—meekly, softly, like the confession itself weighed more than her skin could carry.
And just like that—
The room stopped breathing.
My heartbeat paused.
Even my damn wolf froze mid-step in my mind, ears forward, silence thick like fog choking the trees.
She's… a girl?
My foot halted mid-air.
I stared at her—no, her—the curve of her chest still barely hidden by her trembling arms, her eyes wide and pleading. Not for mercy. Not for release. But for understanding.
But I wasn't understanding.
I was unraveling.
Every fucking piece I'd boxed up and nailed shut started rattling loose.
She's not a boy with boobs.
Not some cursed mix of both.
She's a girl.
A female who tricked me. Lied to me. Hid herself in the skin of something I thought I could control. Someone I thought I understood.
"Are you…" I started, but my throat was too dry to finish.
She looked away.
