LOGINš Fenrir POV
The bedroom door closed behind us with a click.
š Fenrir POVThe bedroom door closed behind us with a click.Final.Ididn’tputherdown.
šFenrir POVāArria.āAlaricās voice tore through my mind.Alert.Sharp.Wrong.
š Arria POV Warmth. Everywhere. I tried to move but couldnāt. I blinked slowly, still caught somewhere between sleep and awareness, and realized I was curled against Fenrirās chest, his hand holding me firmly against him. A small smile pulled at my lips. Then memory returned. I had been waiting for him last night. Apparently unsuccessfully. I tilted my head slightly to look at him. He must have been exhausted to sleep this deeplyācompletely relaxed and unaware. A mischievous thought crossed my mind. Maybe I could try a few things I was still too insecure to do while he was awake. Slowly, I slid my hand up his chest, then around his neck. The muscles beneath my palm relaxed one by one under my touch. It felt good. Better than good. And⦠he didnāt wake up, which meant I could⦠I leaned back just enough to press a soft kiss against the edge of his jaw. One. Then another. Longer this time. Fenrir exhaled deeply. I used the opportunity to pull back a little farther a
š Arria POVA week laterI knew hewouldn’tbe back until dawn.Maybe later.Thepalace was far. Too far.Still, thatdidn’tstop me from waiting.Iwasn’teven pretending to do anything useful anymore.Ihad triedfor a while.Failed.Ev
š Fenrir POV Martha left silence behind. It filled the room the moment the door closed. I welcomed it. Full control had to be rebuiltā piece by piece and breath by breath. For that, I needed her. My gravity. I didnāt let her go. I kept her pressed against me āclose enough to feel the steady rhythm of her breathing. To match it. To follow it back to myself. Arria didnāt resist. She stayed. Willingly. And that... mattered more than anything she could have said. āIs it true?ā My voice came out lower than I intended. Rougher. āWhat you said.ā She shifted slightly against me. Not pulling away. Adjusting. āYes,ā she murmured softly. āYou are way too much.ā There was no edge in it. No accusation. If anythingā it sounded like something else entirely. I exhaled. āNot what I meant.ā A beat. āI know,ā she murmured against me. āBut you scared me.ā That I felt. āDid I āā I stepped back to look at her. My gaze moved quickly over her. Nothing out of place. No vi
š Arria POVāNo.āFenrirās voice cut through the roomācold, final.He straightened abruptly, the sudden movement almost knocking me off the sofa.Everything shifted at once.The air thickened, heavy and charged, pressing against my lungs.Fenrir looked⦠calm.His face unreadable. Composed.But something beneathābroke free.I felt it before I fully understood it.That overwhelming presence he always kept buriedāheld back with impossible controlāwas gone.He let it loose.All of it.The force of it tore the breath from my chest.A dull thud sounded behind me.I turned sharply.Martha had dropped to her knees, her palms braced against the floor as if the weight of something unseen was crushing her down.āMarthaāāI moved toward her, panic rising, but she didnāt look at me.Not at first.When her gaze finally liftedāthere was no guidance in it.Only dread.Pure, unfiltered dread.āWhatās going on?ā My voice came out tight.She didnāt answer immediately.Her breath came shallow, uneve







