Chapter 22 Jealousy

• CASSIAN’S WHISPERED offer hung in the air, a silken promise laced with a predator’s cunning. Selene’s heart hammered against her ribs, torn between the desperate hope he offered and the instinctual fear his ancient gaze ignited. Just as she processed his words, Waldemar’s furious roar ripped through the parlor, obliterating all thought of escape.
• "Get your filthy hands off her, leech!" Waldemar’s voice was a low, guttural snarl, vibrating with a raw, primal fury that shook the very foundations of the room. The Moonbind flared between them, a searing wave of pure, unadulterated jealousy that slammed into Selene, suffocating her with its intensity. It was a suffocating, almost painful display of Waldemar’s possessiveness, consuming her senses.
• Before Cassian could even fully straighten from his whispered proposition, Waldemar was on him. It wasn't a tactical move, but a burst of unbridled, visceral rage. Waldemar lunged, grabbing Cassian by the front of his elegant dark coat, his knuckles white as he twisted the fabric. The vampire, for all his effortless grace, was momentarily caught off guard by the sheer ferocity of the Alpha’s attack.