🦋ALTHEA
​I saw it register on his face the moment he realized what he'd said. I watched his expression shift from earnest to frustrated to something that looked almost like regret.
​"Althea—"
​"It's fine." I smoothed down the tunic, my movements mechanical. "You're right. I don't make good decisions."
​"That's not what I meant."
​"Isn't it?" I still didn't look at him. "You're protecting me from my own terrible judgment. My reckless choices. My inability to know what's good for me."
​"You ran into the Red Mist," he said, his voice rising. "You almost died. You could have told me they had Vargans there."
​"Yes." I nodded once. "But I didn't."
​The calm agreement seemed to unsettle him more than any argument could have.
​"You don't even care," he said, and there was something raw in his voice now. "You don't value your own life."
​"No," I said simply. "I don't."
​The honesty of it hung in the air between us.
​"But that's not your problem to fix, is it, Alpha?"
