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He dragged a hand over his jaw.

‘Fokkthat shit and those lame ass losers.’

His voice dropped to a dark promise. ‘They’ve no chance. Not if I have anything to say about it.’

Xander sat in his ready room, hunched over the data slate but barely seeing the words.

His mind whirled with thoughts. On The Technocracy, Eugene’s political trap and the bullshit Signet was being put through.

It made his pulse throb in that slow, dangerous way that usually came before violence. But today, it wasn’t just the crats getting under his skin.

It had been twenty-four hours since he’d last spoken to Savvine. A day since the argument, their voices heated, flaring with words that slayed the soul.

He hadn’t slept much. He hadn’teatenmuch. Every time he thought about her walking away, her back straight but her shoulders tense, it made something behind his ribs ache. Sick. Like he’d swallowed regret and it wouldn’t settle.

He finally pushed himself up and headed to the mess, his stomach growling out of spite more than hunger.

The doors opened, and there she was.

Savvine, exiting a few feet away.

Her hair was braided back, and her expression was unreadable until her gaze caught his. Her steps faltered, and herface softened for a moment before she closed up, with a sad twist of her mouth.

His heart wrenched as she kept walking, tracking toward her new suite with such poise that it was hard to tell if she was breaking or surviving.

He didn’t move, nor call after her. He let his eyes follow her silhouette, the sorrow of missing her punching through him all over again.

Fokk.He wanted, needed, and was desperate for her like oxygen.

He growled under his breath, tracked into the food hall, and rustled a tray.

He sat down with a plate he didn’t want and poked at it, dragging his fork through the grains without lifting it to his mouth. His appetite was gone, burned out with everything else.

He sensed a presence as Miral slid into the seat across from him.

She didn’t say anything for a second. She studied him, shaking her head.

‘Xander Roman, you need to lose your stubbornness. Go to her.’

He blinked, jaw twitching. ‘She might not want that.’

‘She might not ask,’ Miral corrected, her brow arching. ‘But shewantsit.’

He leaned back, crossing his hands over his muscled chest, frowning. ‘She doesn’t seem to show it.’

Miral tilted her head. ‘You’re not the only one learning to feel things, Xander. She’s processing years of conditioning, ideas drilled into her about love, safety, and who’s worthy of trust. She’s trying to unlearn a lifetime in real time. However, none of that means she doesn’t want you.’

He exhaled hard through his nose, but didn’t interrupt.

‘She needs to know you’re the rock,’ Miral said. ‘The one who doesn’t move. The one who stays steady while she unpacks every learned fear she has about who you are and what it means for her future.’

Xander glanced down at his untouched food. ‘Fokk, you’re good at this. You could start a psych clinic as a side hustle.’

‘What makes you think I haven’t? I’m freakin counseling all the star wolves now, for free. I should charge by the hour, hmmm?’

Xander huffed, then surged to his feet, his chair scraping as he pushed it back.

‘You do that while I go off and become afokkin’ rock.’