تسجيل الدخولThe ravine opened into a small clearing. Jax was there with maybe a dozen wolves in human form. They looked ready for battle. Weapons drawn. Expressions hostile. Jax's face flooded with relief when he saw Ezekiel. "Thank fuck. We felt the wards break and thought--" He cut off when Winter emerged behind Ezekiel. "You found her." "She's coming back with us." Ezekiel's tone brooked no argument. One of the wolves stepped forward. Rasmus, Winter remembered from brief glimpses at the citadel. His expression was ugly. "The witch girl? You're bringing the witch girl back to the citadel?" "She's my mate." Ezekiel's voice had dropped into that dangerous register. "And she's half-wolf. Watch your tone." "Half-witch is still witch." Rasmus spat on the ground. "We don't allow magic in our territory. It's law." "Then the law changes." Ezekiel moved to stand slightly in front of Winter. "She stays. Anyone who objects can challenge me for the position." Rasmus's hands clenched but he didn't mo
Sophia watched the exchange with an expression Winter couldn't read. "He's different. The way he looks at you. Touches you. That's not the Alpha King everyone whispers about." "The curse suppressed most emotional expression." Ezekiel's thumb traced small circles against Winter's spine. "Now I can show what I feel instead of just acting on instinct." "And what you feel is love." Sophia's voice had lost some of its sharp edge. "For my daughter. The granddaughter of the witch who cursed you." "Yes." "That's either the most beautiful thing I've ever heard or the most tragic." Sophia pressed her palms against her eyes. "I can't decide which." Winter took another step toward her mother. "It can be both. Beautiful and tragic. That's what our whole situation is." Sophia lowered her hands. Her face looked older suddenly. Tired. "Your father would have loved this. The poetic irony of our daughter mating the cursed alpha. He always believed love could overcome anything." Her voice cracked.
Sophia's expression didn't soften. "Pretty words from someone who's had decades to perfect manipulation." "I was cursed with a stone heart for twenty-two years." Ezekiel's voice had gone rough again. "Manipulation requires emotional intelligence I didn't possess. All I had was instinct. And my instinct said protect her. Keep her safe. Make sure nothing touched her." "Because she's yours. Your possession." "Because she's mine and I'm hers." Ezekiel's golden eyes were steady on Sophia. "Mutual. Equal. Not ownership." Winter felt her throat tighten. Hearing Ezekiel defend their bond with actual words instead of grunts and silence made everything more real Sophia must have seen something in Winter's face because her expression crumbled slightly. "Baby. Please. You don't have to do this. You can stay here. Learn your magic. Be safe with people who understand what you've been through." "I don't want to be safe in a cave." Winter's voice wavered but stayed firm. "I want to be with Zeke
Sophia was standing exactly where Winter expected her to be. Arms crossed, magic already gathered in her palms making them glow faintly green. Her face was the kind of furious that came from hearing everything through stone walls and not being able to prevent it."You kissed him." Not a question. An accusation.Winter kept Ezekiel's hand in hers. "Yes.""After everything I told you. After explaining what his family did to ours. After warning you the mate bond is manipulation." Sophia's voice was shaking. "You kissed the son of your father's murderer.""I kissed my mate." Winter's grip tightened on Ezekiel's fingers. "The curse broke. His heart is real now. Everything changed.""Nothing changed." Sophia took a step forward. Vex growled low but she ignored him. "He's still a werewolf. Still the Alpha King. Still capable of destroying you the way his father destroyed our family."Ezekiel spoke before Winter could. "I'm not my father."Sophia's eyes snapped to him. "You can talk in comple
Ezekiel's mouth twitched. "Tell her what? That I love you and you love me and we're leaving together?" "that sounds terrible when you say it out loud." "It is terrible." Ezekiel kissed her forehead. Quick and gentle. "But it's ours. Our terrible decision. Our impossible situation. Our choice." Winter leaned into him, her head resting against his chest. Right over his now-beating heart. "Your voice is different. Less rough. More human." "The curse affected everything. Speech included." Ezekiel's hand stroked through her hair. "Is it strange?" "A little. But I like it." Winter's fingers traced absent patterns on his chest. "I liked the grunting too. But this is nice. Getting to hear your actual thoughts." "I'll probably still grunt. Alpha habit." Ezekiel smiled against her hair. "But now I can also tell you things. Like how you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen. How watching you learn shadow magic made me proud. How losing you nearly destroyed me." Winter was quiet for
Ezekiel hadn't considered it that way. "She gave me a chance. Cursed me but left an escape route." "Because she wasn't just angry. She was heartbroken. But she still believed love was powerful enough to overcome hatred." Winter's voice thickened. "That's not revenge. That's hope." Ezekiel stared at Winter. This small woman who'd survived abuse and loss. who'd learned magic in three weeks and bonded with a beast. Who sent a message via bat because she wanted to talk instead of hide. Who saw hope in a revenge curse. "I love you." The words came out before Ezekiel could overthink them. Simple. True. "I don't know if that's too fast or too intense. But the curse is gone and I can feel everything now and what I feel is love. For you. Little Ghost." Winter's breath caught. Her grey eyes went wide. "You love me." "Yes." "Even though we barely know each other. Even though our families destroyed each other. Even though this entire situation is impossible." "Yes." Ezekiel's thumb traced
The silence he left behind was louder than a scream. Winter sat frozen on the hard wooden chair, her entire being vibrating with the aftershocks of his presence. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of fractured images: the terrifying intensity of his golden eyes, the shocking heat of his body so close t
A tremor ran through her, a violent shudder she couldn’t control. She wrapped her arms around herself, her teeth chattering. His eyes narrowed further, a flicker of deep annoyance in their golden depths. Her weakness, her fear, it was like a grating noise, a flaw in the perfect, cold silence of hi
She sat up, her heart pounding. the room was silent. Empty. But the feeling was back. Stronger this time. The hum of the bond was a distinct thrum in her blood, a resonant frequency that made the hairs on her arms stand up. He was close. She slid off the high bed, her bare feet silent on the co
This must be Elspeth, Winter thought, recalling the name from Jax's earlier comment. She had served the Citadel for a long time, and her loyalty was to the Alpha King alone. The woman’s eyes, the color of slate, flickered over Winter once. It wasn’t a glance; it was a judgment. It was a look that







