Chapter 68

“Look, Valeria,” Dimitri said, his tone softening. “I’m not going to force you into anything. If you want to stay, you’re most welcome. If you want to leave, that’s also fine. But don’t expect anything from me when it’s already too late.” There was something about the way he spoke, a weight behind his words that made me pause. It wasn’t the commanding tone he often used, the one that made him sound so unshakable and sure. No, this was different. There was a warning buried in his voice, one I couldn’t ignore. I studied him carefully, trying to pick apart his expression, to figure out what game he was playing now. But instead of the cold, calculated Alpha I was expecting, I saw something that caught me off guard—a flicker of vulnerability. It was faint, buried beneath the layers of his authority and power, but it was there. A glimmer of regret, almost like an open wound he didn’t know how to hide. It made me feel... unsteady. I didn’t answer him right away. My mind raced with conflicting