Chapter 105Lily's POV
"From this moment on… you are my Beta."
The silence that followed Joe's decree was unbearable.
My lungs burned. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath, waiting for the sword to fall, waiting for the splatter of blood. My fingers unclenched slowly at my sides, but my body still felt frozen, pale and trembling.
Joe's office felt colder than ever, the fire in the hearth useless against the icy weight that had just settled in the room.
I turned toward Joe, my lips parted, my mind scrambling to make sense of what had just happened. He had… spared Xavier? No, worse. He had chosen him as his beta. Then what about Ivan? He won't like this.
Xavier's eyes fluttered open, his chest heaving like a man pulled out of drowning waters. The tension left his shoulders all at once, but the shock stayed. His voice cracked when he finally spoke.
"...A…Alpha?" His tone was almost disbelieving, like he expected Joe to laugh and slit his throat anyway.
