Chapter 43

Theo's POV Claire's behavior had been increasingly troubling me over the past week. Something was clearly wrong, and it went far beyond simple fatigue from caring for her sick father. The dark circles under her eyes had deepened to the point where makeup could no longer hide them, and I'd caught her nodding off at her desk multiple times despite her obvious efforts to stay alert. She insisted it was just the stress of her father's condition, but my instincts told me there was more to it. The woman I'd come to know was resilient, capable of handling immense pressure with grace. This level of exhaustion suggested something else entirely—something she was deliberately hiding from me. My wolf stirred restlessly in my chest, equally disturbed by Claire's decline. *She's not telling us everything,* he growled, pacing anxiously beneath my skin. *Something's wrong. We need to find out what.* *I know,* I replied through our internal connection. *But she's not going to tell us willingly. She's t