เข้าสู่ระบบZane's POV “I couldn't wait anymore.” Her voice breaks again. “Every day I spend here, getting closer to your pack, falling for you when I shouldn't, it feels like betraying them. Like I'm forgetting why I came here.”Falling for you. The words pierce through everything else.“Kai,” I cup her face, making her meet my eyes. “You're not betraying your parents by loving me. And you're not forgetting them by wanting revenge.”“Aren't I?” She's crying again. “I let myself get bonded to a werewolf. I let myself feel things for you that I never should have felt. And now I don't know who I am anymore. Am I the girl seeking revenge? Or the mate who loves you despite everything?”“You're both.” I wipe tears from her cheeks. “You can love me and still need justice for your parents. Those things don't have to be mutually exclusive.”“They do when your father might be involved!” The words burst out before she can stop them.I freeze. “What?”“Elder Rian almost said it. Before you arrived, he star
Zane's POVThe drive back to the apartment is silent, but the bond between us screams with everything Kaidora won't say out loud.Pain. Rage. Grief so deep it feels like drowning.I keep glancing at her in the passenger seat. She's staring out the window, tears streaming down her face that she doesn't bother to wipe away. Her hands are clenched in her lap, trembling with emotion she's been holding back for goddess knows how long.The words about her parents and how they died replay in my mind, each repetition adding another piece to a puzzle I should have solved months ago. Her desperate need for pack access. Her questions about pack members. Her interest in Elder Rian's ring. The way she's been investigating in secret while pretending to be my mate.It was never about the Luna position, never about me or this bond.It was about revenge and I've not seen this coming all these while. I pull into the apartment complex and kill the engine, but neither of us moves. The silence stretches,
Kaidora's POVThe apartment feels suffocating after Amber leaves.Her words replay in my mind constantly, like she could smell what I've been trying to deny. That something fundamental is changing inside me. That I'm becoming something I don't understand.I pace the living room, my thoughts spiraling. The bond pulses quietly in my chest, connecting me to Zane even though he's across campus at training. Through it, I feel his focus, his physical exertion, his worry about me that he's trying to push down.The constant connection is maddening. No privacy. No separation. Just him, always there in the back of my mind.This is what being bonded means. And I hate it.No. That's not entirely true. Part of me— the traitorous part that's been growing stronger since the ceremony— doesn't hate it at all. That part reaches through the bond toward him, seeking comfort and connection.But the rest of me, the part that came here for revenge, feels trapped.I move to the window and stare out at the ca
Kaidora's POVThe knock on the apartment door startles me out of my spiraling thoughts.I've been sitting on the couch for hours, staring at nothing while trying to process everything that's happened. Zane left for training again this morning with careful distance between us, the bond humming with hurt neither of us knows how to address.Another knock comes from the door, more insistent this time.I drag myself to the door and open it to find Amber standing there with a bright smile and a bag of what looks like pastries.“Kai!” She doesn't wait for an invitation, just pushes past me into the apartment. “Finally! I've been trying to reach you for days but you've been completely MIA.”“Amber.” I close the door, caught off guard by her sudden appearance. “I'm sorry, I've been—”“Busy being the future Luna, I know.” She sets the pastry bag on the kitchen counter, then turns to face me with sparkling eyes. “But that's exactly why I'm here! I’m so sorry I couldn't show up at the ceremony. I
Kaidora's POVThe drive back to the apartment is suffocating. Zane keeps his eyes on the road, his jaw tight with tension that radiates through the bond I can't ignore. I feel everything he's feeling— guilt, worry, love, confusion— and it makes my own emotions impossible to untangle.The mark on my neck throbs with every heartbeat, a constant reminder of what we did. What I begged him to do. What the so-called heat made inevitable.I press my hand against it, and the touch sends electricity through the bond. Zane's fingers tighten on the steering wheel, and I realize he felt it too, felt my touch through our connection like I'd reached out and caressed him directly.This is what being bonded means. No privacy. No separation. Forever connected in ways I never wanted.“We need to talk about what happened,” Zane says quietly, breaking the silence that's stretched for miles.“Do we?” I keep my gaze fixed on the window, watching pack territory give way to neutral ground. “I think what happ
Kaidora's POVEverything narrows to sensation. The heat that was consuming me from the inside begins to ease, replaced by something else. Something overwhelming and electric that makes rational thought impossible.Zane's touch is everywhere, gentle but urgent, careful and demanding. Each point of contact sends sparks through my nervous system, temporarily drowning out the pain that's been tearing me apart.Relief. Finally, finally, relief.I didn't know it was possible to need something this desperately. I didn't understand how something like this could override every carefully constructed wall I've built. But the heat stripped away everything— my control, my plans, my reasons for being here— until only need remained.And Zane. Always Zane. His scent surrounds me, pine and musk mixing with something uniquely him. “I've got you.” His voice is rough against my ear, grounding me when I feel like I might float away. “I've got you.”I can't form words. I can't think past the sensations ov







