Lloyd wondered when it all began. He couldn't quite remember. Over the years, she had grown on him; her wistful gaze as she observed the Alpha from the shadows, her infectious laughter, and the unexpected grace in her every movement. Her efforts to conceal her inner darkness behind a facade of naivety had intrigued him.
Lloyd couldn't pinpoint when he had fallen in love with her. Maybe it was because she was different, or perhaps because she embodied everything he was not. He, the simpering coward without a mind of his own, had naturally admired Jessamine, and that admiration had evolved into something more.
Something Renae didn't appreciate.
Lloyd's gaze shifted to his best friend, Kier, who was struggling to mask his worry, avoiding looking in the direction Jessamine had fled. It wasn
