A BEAST’S SILENT SACRIFICE BENEATH SHADOWS OF BETRAYAL

Julian stopped six feet away, catching Dante’s gaze. The silence between the two men stretched taut, vibrating like a tuned blade. Julian noticed the angle of Dante’s right shoulder—the subtle dropped stance of a seasoned killer preparing to draw and fire.

""You're looking at me like I crossed you, brother,"" Julian said, raising his hands in a gesture of disarming innocence. ""I just drove in from the shipping docks. We seized the northern shipment like you ordered.""

""Did you?"" Dante asked quietly. ""And did you lose something at the docks, Julian?""

Julian glanced down at his right wrist. He blinked, a flicker of genuine irritation passing over his sharp features before he forced a soft chuckle. ""The cufflink? Must have snagged it on a shipping crate during the sweep. I didn't even realize.""

""You lost it here,"" Dante said, stepping aside to reveal the empty stainless steel water bowl near Atlas's snout. ""Clara pulled it from beneath Atlas’s body five minutes ago. Next to the water bowl that was swapped out with poisoned runoff.""

Julian’s face went completely blank, the easy charm stripping away to reveal the cold steel beneath. ""Dante, you're grieving a dog. Don't let paranoia blind you. If someone put that cufflink there, they set me up to tear us apart. You think I’d be stupid enough to leave my family crest at a murder scene?""

""You wouldn't,"" Dante agreed, taking half a step forward. ""Unless you didn't expect the dog to fight back. Atlas knew your scent, Julian. He would have let you walk right up to his bowl without growling. But he knew poison when he smelled it. He bit you, didn't he?""

Julian took a half-step back, his hand inching subtly toward his hip. ""Dante, stand down.""

""Show me your forearm,"" Dante commanded, his voice trembling with a terrifying, contained fury. ""Roll up your right sleeve, Julian. Right now.""